Accidents are Never on Purpose
by TheLostSpirit
Summary: I was on my way to the cafe to meet my precious Strawberry. Next thing I know, she's being wheeled away in an ambulance. Pairing: AmuxIkuto.
1. Day One

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara!**

_Day One_

Something hit me _hard_. My ears heard a sort of screeching scream some minutes ago—cats don't care much about time. I was on my way to see my precious Strawberry (I have been in love with that nickname since I gave it to her years ago) down by the café we passed by one morning. She asked me:

"Could we go in there one day?" and she seemed so fascinated at the place. For crying out loud, it only served coffee! Why were people so interested in coffee? Nevertheless, I told her we would. And that's where we are today. I couldn't see my little Amu angry at me or not smile when I was around. That would just break my heart! A police car whizzed past me on the way to my destination and a quick thought ran through my mind.

Did the scream have something to do with the police car? I shook it away and continued on. I could hear others around me whisper to each other, asking the same thing: "I wonder what happened?" It was obvious that this would somehow get on the news one way or another as more and more people started to follow the band of cars on the way to the scene. An ambulance went by after a while and the sirens blared in the air. Those in the streets quickly moved out of the way and onto the curbs to gaze at the car that just drove by.

I was intrigued. What _had_ happened? I quickly moved to an alleyway and took my phone out: of course I dialed Amu's number. She had to know what was going on in the neighborhood if she wasn't around. Girls, right? All the gossips…I digress. The tone of the rings were so monotonous as I anxiously waited for her to answer. A click soon rang through my ears, then voices all over. Where exactly was she? Was she already at the café? "Amu?" I asked.

I didn't hear her voice right away. I heard people screaming and talking about _something_, but I couldn't figure it out. "Amu?" I yelled this time. I heard some movements on the phone, followed by a muffled: "…Ikuto?" I sighed a breath of relief when I heard her voice. My heart always jumped when she said it, wherever we were at the time.

I smirked and started to climb the walls. Certain cats can do something like that, and I got a clear view of the city. I then yelled back: "Aw, is my Amu too busy to talk to me?" I started to jump towards the café while she was still on the phone with me. The noises in the background just bothered me to death, but she made it okay. Her voice was angelic, after all. I heard her again: "…Ikuto?" I stopped on a roof and listened to the noises again.

The sirens of the police cars were in the background, followed by: "Back up, back up!" Was she at the scene? Now I _had_ to get to the café! She breathed into the phone's intercom and it almost felt like she was there with me. Oh, I wanted to see her! "Where are you?" I screamed. She quickly responded:

"The café…" I could barely make out her voice now. The police screamed in the background "Put the phones away, immediately!" Was he talking to _my_ Amu like that? "…Ikuto." She finished. I hopped down in the alleyway next to the café and turned the corner. I wanted to surprise her, but…I didn't see her. In fact, there was no one in the café! They were all outside in the streets! The ambulance arrived and the paramedics piled out of the car. The police gave them some room and continued to yell at the crowd.

"Amu, you aren't in the café. Are you hiding?" I smiled and stood at the entrance. "…Ikuto." Why was she repeating my name? I was still on the line! I looked around at the crowd and found a bloodied car parked near a police car and the driver on the ground, crying his eyes out. Ah, someone was hit. "Yes, my Amu?"

She started to breathe heavily. Was she in the crowd? I shrugged and found no reason to _not_ search, so I started to make my way through the sea of people. They all ranged: young, old, men, women… you name it, it was there. The noises on the phone seemed to be the same as the noises I was hearing. So she was close.

"I'll find you Amu, don't worry," I could feel her smile on the other end. I just knew, I guess. Cat's instinct? "Good…" I could hear the paramedics say something on the other end. Wow, she was really close to her! I started to make my way to the front then. "…Ikuto?" She asked one more time. I am still here, Amu! A pain in my heart slowly made its way into my body. What was going on? The paramedics told her: "You need to put the phone away." But she kept repeating my name: "Ikuto…Ikuto…Ikuto…" Was she horrified at the scene?

I pushed through a couple and finally made it to the front. I scanned the people standing there, with worried looks and looking at the group of paramedics huddled over a body. There was blood all over the place. Puddles of blood surrounded the paramedics and the body and I couldn't look there anymore. My heart was already hurting enough, for some reason. I searched the circle; she was nowhere to be found. The paramedics said again: "Please, give us the phone, miss" and I heard it on her line. The police were pushing people away and then I heard more of the paramedics.

"She's lost a ton of blood" and "cracked bones" were all I could make out, but I could hear everything perfectly on her line. "She's lost a ton of blood. Who knows how many cracked bones she has. Such a cute girl, too." I unconsciously pushed forward from the band of policemen and stood in the center. One of the paramedics turned to face me and I asked "Amu?" to her on the phone. The person moved their leg on the ground, just like…like she did yesterday when we were walking around town. No, please…

The paramedic rose from the ground, giving me some kind of a sign as to who it was. In the midst of the blood, there was a woman with pink nail-polish—the same as Amu's yesterday—and wearing a plaid pink and black dress—just like Amu's. I moved to the side to catch a glimpse of the girl. I held the phone to my ear to hear "Ikuto?" again. The girl's head was turned to the side, so I could see her face. All kinds of bruising and cuts went up and down her body, blood everywhere from head to toe. She was holding a phone to her ear. No…

She had pink hair. It was Amu. My eyes widened at the sight and she looked me in the eyes. Her arm started to move where it was almost like trying to grab my own hand. I just stood there in shock. Her phone started to move away from her ear and I wanted to mute everyone around me to hear her voice again. She said, "Ikuto…I…love…" and she closed her eyes. I knelt down and held her hand. A stretcher came from the ambulance from the previous paramedic.

I held on when they put her on the stretcher. I held on when they started to move her, much to the policemen wanting me to get away from her. I let go when she was placed in the ambulance. They all climbed in and hooked the machines into her body. Nothing mattered to me except for _her,_ and nothing ran through my mind except for her. When I heard a machine hook up, a long pulse was heard. My heart ached. Soon after, the paramedics placed their fingers on her neck and started compressions. "I lost a pulse!"

**Hm. I'm not used to writing a full-on story for Amu and Ikuto. I'm too used to oneshots! We'll see how this goes..**

**YES! I'm here with a chaptered story for Amu and Ikuto! It'll be about 30-35 chapters, ALL in Ikuto's view (unless otherwise noted) during those days. Each chapter will be a day, and each chapter will be about 1500 words. Nothing TOO hard, but..still. It'll be different for me to actually write something for them that isn't over with in just 2500 words xD **

**Quick facts!**

**-Ikuto is 23, Amu is 18. They aren't children anymore.  
-Yes, Amu was hit by a car. Got a problem?  
-How long have they been dating? I don't know. I'll get to that when more chapters are made.  
-Obviously Amu will not die. Get over that one real fast.  
-They aren't married.  
-They're already in love, but..again, I'll get to that when more chapters are made.**

**Okay, now that THAT is over..**

**I don't think I have much else to say. Uh...what made me write this kind of a story? I don't know, just a passing thought when I was going to bed. Who knows if I'll even update again if you guys don't like this xD**

**Review! And please, comment or critique on whatever you read! 8) It'll make me write faster and love you~**

**Until next time!**

**TLS**


	2. Day Two

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara!**

_Day Two_

I didn't call her family right away. When she arrived at the hospital, they were still trying to start her heart. God, I hadn't cried so hard in years. Trauma 1: that was where she was earlier. They got a pulse soon after she entered that room when I stood outside looking in. The doctors told me to wait somewhere else, but I stayed there until they had to move her later on in the day. _Then_ I called her family.

They didn't believe me. That, or they hated me for bringing her somewhere unsafe. I couldn't tell over the phone—whether they were blaming me or just distraught—but I have been known to be blamed for almost everything in life. I wasn't surprised when they _did_ arrive that her mother didn't even look at me, and her father had the sternest look on his face almost yelling at me. Her sister, though, as sweet as she can be, was crying and telling me that she would be okay.

It is one in the morning. She is still in surgery. They didn't know the extent of her injuries. Her chances of survival are slim, from all the blood she lost (they were running back and forth with blood packets in hand) to the broken bones up and down her body to the internal bleeding from the impact the car made to the brain damage when her head hit the concrete.

I'm sitting in a chair away from the family. I wanted no part in their mournful woes if she _were_ to not make it through the night. God, why am I thinking like this? She _will_ make it, I know she will. She's strong. Her mother kept looking over at me every five minutes or so; she obviously wants to say something.

The silence is strong and overpowering. There are other families in here, though, whispering to their loved ones about how strong _their_ victim is and crying over the disturbing news that their son, daughter, father, mother, uncle, aunt, beloved friend, whoever will never breathe again. Ami came to sit next to me from time to time, but her mother would always call her back over and she reluctantly followed her mother's calls.

I can feel my eyelids start to fall. Damn, I thought I could make the night with Amu. I shake my head to try and wake up and look back at Amu's family. Her mother was not over there, but sitting right next to me in the chair where Ami used to be. She is not looking at me and her eyes are directed to the ground. She had been crying for quite some time about her "baby girl" still in surgery.

I could only imagine what kind of pain she must be going through. Sure, I, too, am distraught about the whole thing, and I have a lot of pain bunched up in my heart along with my conscious trying to stay optimistic, but for a mother? Even a father to go through something like this must be traumatic. I wrap my arm around her shoulder in a somehow consoling way, but she whispered, "Please don't touch me, Ikuto."

I had never seen her mother like this before. Usually, if I do something bad—like bring Amu home a few hours late because I wanted to tease her about the latest movies she would dig, or be in Amu's room on her bed when she would walk in with a pile of my own clothes (that may have been deliberate)—it's a mere scolding and the swing of my tail would bring me back on the streets. Maybe that's where I belong.

I take my arm away from her and place it on my lap again. My hands, they still are stained with Amu's blood. I look at them in some kind of therapy to know that Amu's life rests on my hands still. I look at her mother again: she was thinking the same thing, it seems. "Ikuto," she whispers. She sounds just like Amu, lying on the street. My heart stings, but my face remains the same. "I wish I couldn't blame you," and more tears fall down her face.

It hurt. When someone blames me, it's for the ridiculous. But, when it came to Amu, whether it be her safety, her happiness, her sadness, anger, stress, isolation, love, anything, it hurt the most. If my cat ears could show, they would be drooped right about now. "But if…if you would've actually came to get her instead of telling her to meet her there…!" she went into hysterics.

The night before, I called her. "My little Strawberry, do you need assistance getting to the café? I can always lend a hand to you, or whatever else you desire," I could tell she blushed.

"N-No! I can manage to get there myself!" and that was the end of that. I didn't argue. I didn't even rationalize. Thinking back, maybe I could've stopped her for thinking that she could travel by herself. Look at me, thinking selfishly as if she were to be by my side the whole time. I look at her mother: she facing me now with those red eyes. I back away in fear of her, but she leans forward to bring her threat. "I will never forgive you, Ikuto!"

Her father rose from his chair and sat next to his wife. I have never seen her father like this, either. Usually, if I make a mistake around him, he whines to Amu about growing up too fast. This time, though, I'm afraid of the worst. He, too, has red eyes from crying and _hoping_ that Amu make it out alive. Ami ran over and stood next to me, as if she were taking my side? I am not sure how her mind works, sometimes.

He does not say a word to me. He just consoles his wife as she cries in his arms. Ami tugs at my arm, whispering, "I don't blame you, Ikuto. She'll be okay," but I don't look down at her. I continue to look at the mother and the pain I caused. _It was all my fault. _

The doctor came in at that moment. She looked at him with a pleading look in her eyes, wanting all the information for herself. Her family surrounded the doctor, who just took off the bloodied gloves—he must've operated on her—and told them to sit again. Time seemed so slow when I sat there listening to the news. I didn't know what I would do if she were dead or even if she were alive. The doctor looked at me a few times, knowing I had something to do with this, but I stared at the chair her mother sat in minutes before.

"She had a few complications during surgery," he starts. They are praying at this point, as I am too. All I can see now is her smiling face graced peacefully in my memory, not the bloodied mess I seemed to come across hours before. The swing of my tail seems to pull me away from the doctor and her family. The last thing I hear is: "She had multiple contusions to her abdomen as well as her head and cuts from hitting the concrete."

I'm wandering the halls of a hospital right now. It's pretty dead, for the most part (no pun intended). The night shift is standing around a circle of computers waiting for some patient or trauma victim to roll through their doors. The only severe victims I could possibly see are drunks with heads bleeding from probably getting into a fight with another drunk. I see signs above the lobby pointing to numerous directions. I see one that reads "ICU" and slyly turn the corner.

Visiting hours were over. If they saw me wandering the halls, I'd be either kicked out of the hospital for the night or put back into the family waiting room. I scan the names of those in this area: no one familiar. Some of the doors are open, which is a little odd considering the time of day it is and who would actually want to go into some of these rooms. The only sounds down this hall are those from the heart monitors.

I reach one of the doors, with no name placed in the slot yet, but a bed sitting inside. This must be her room. I slide open the door and enter as quietly as I could; the glow of the machines is my light to her face again. I close the door and start to walk to her bed. I can see a few features of her now sleeping body. Her chest rising and falling, her skin having a wonderful peachy color, and a few cuts in the green light: she is alive.

I find a lamp on her table next to her bed, along with the doctor's clipboard. Normally, those things would be on the end of the bed. Is this Fate wanting me to know how the love of my life is? I turn the light on and look at her.

She looks horrible. Her face is bruised, scrapings all along a side of her face, stitches on her head and running down her chest, cuts run up and down her arms and legs, blood still oozing out of some of her wounds, all kinds of machines hooked up to her body, something to help her breath e covering most of her face, a cast for one of her legs wrapped and binding around her thigh down to her foot, her pink hair still holding onto her own blood, and her entire body bruised from impact. The only thing maybe peaceful about her is her eyes: they're asleep and away from this mess.

I sit down next to her and hold her hand. They're cold. I'm not surprised that she does not hold back, but I was expecting something. The doctor's clipboard is in my other hand, and I don't want to look at something disturbing yet. I want to hear her tell me that it's fine before I look at the news her family already knows. Then again, maybe no one wants me to know.

I lay my head on top of her hand with mine underneath. I close my eyes and feel her pulse beat against my own and it's the best sound I could possibly hear at this point, besides her voice. I can't help but cry and let all of my pain out. God, it's been so long since I've cried, but it is Amu. She has my heart, after all, and my heart wants to cry. If she saw me like this, she would probably say: "Ikuto, are you crying? You have a heart after all!" and give me that grin I've always loved.

What I wouldn't give to see _that_ again. I rise from the bed—I bet I have red eyes, so thank you, Amu—and glare down at the clipboard. A lot of writing scribbled on this one piece of paper seems ominous, but I read it out loud; maybe she could hear me. I grip her hand and read. "Lacerations to her abdomen. Over 100 stitches in her head and over two hundred on her chest. Multiple fractures in her left leg," I glance at that leg and continue, "Numerous cuts up and down her arms, chest, legs, and face. Breathing at an unsteady rate. No brain activity." I read the last one again without saying it and glance at her face.

She is brain dead? No, that's not possible. "MRI shows a few hot spots in her head that could be hemorrhages. Brain activity still there after surgery," I knew it, "Pupils dilated. Checked her brain again. MRI shows limited brain activity. Brain damage too severe to tell at this point, but could be comatose." I stop. That can't be right. I look over the notes from the nurse. A checked box under what type of patient she fits under is visible: Comatose.

I look at my precious Amu and see no life flash on her face. Her eyes do not flutter, the machine makes her breathe, and her heart beats a certain rhythm. I drop the clipboard and let my head fall on her hand again. I start to cry for what I've done. She's…in a coma?

**No, I am not majoring in medicine if you were wondering. Watching ER for about 15 years does wonders. **

**This one's a bit depressing, right? I wonder what we have in store for Day Three! 8O I don't even know myself. I have a few ideas, but I would like _those_ ideas to be later on in the story. Maybe I'll do a view change. Who knows.**

**Anyway, sorry if this _is_ depressing. You would cry, too, if your loved one was in a coma. Sheesh. **

**I KNOW IKUTO IS OOC (the mom is, too. Gosh, I felt like such a jerk for writing her like that!). Don't tell me, either, because I'll most likely ignore you if you tell me that. That is intended. The reason? They're older and people DO change when they are older. Mind you, Ikuto is 23 and Amu is 18, so...figure that out. Oh, and I don't know if doctors ACTUALLY write that stuff on clipboards xD I'm sure it's more about stats and how they're doing on an hourly basis, but...again, I have no idea.**

**One quick note: I have nothing against Amu's family xD I just made them like that to make them be emotional and over -the-top. I'm sure they'll get over it? (Not likely xD)**

**Again, about the love stuff. That'll come in another chapter (maybe next chapter?!) and we'll get into how they confessed 8)**

**With that saidddd, I have to get back to my other stories or oneshots that I'm doing. I'm a busy bee, yes I am! Thank you for all the lovely reviews so far! Even though I got three, I felt the love. I really did. **

**Please review! If you want to comment on something, say something nasty to me, whatever, please, put it in writing so I can see it! Every once in a while, I'll reply to all my reviews 8)**

**Until next time! **

**TLS**


	3. Day Three

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara!**

_Day Three_

I can't visit Ikuto today. We have a Guardian meeting today around four and he's off doing something in France or wherever he must be in the world. He left about four years ago and I haven't heard from him since the airport. So I tell myself I can't visit him and maybe, just maybe, I can see him again.

That'll be the day. I'll be surprised if my prayers are even answered. I'm sitting in the gardens alone right now, waiting for either Rima or Nagihiko—they are usually the first to arrive—to join me. That's fine, I'll reminisce about Ikuto anyway. I shouldn't say he hasn't talked to me; I last spoke to him about a year ago on the phone and got done with an internet conversation about five months ago.

I'm not attentive about these details. I just remember the most important events, which are mostly Ikuto and I from my childhood. God, I sound like such a girl when I look back on those days, but every time I do, I can't help but blush. I wonder what he would say to me if he saw me still blushing after all these years: "Some things never change about you, my little Strawberry."

As I sit here, I look around the scenery. Nothing's changed: I'm still under the white gazebo the Director built years ago, the colors of the flowers have yet to change at all, the warm air comes and goes every time the wind blows, and those younger than me still fawn over the guardians and me just sitting here. I wish I still had my Charas sometimes, just so I could have _some_ company.

Come to think of it, why _are_ the Guardians still around? There are no chances of X-eggs to be saved, we cannot transform into our other selves, and we quit looking for that Embryo years ago. Is it just for the point of saving our friendships? I can just imagine what would happen if I brought that up for an idea:

"Hey, let's break up the Guardians! We can still be friends!" They would all glare at me and kick me out of their pact. That would be it, too. They're very serious about this Guardian stuff still, which I have no clue why. I, personally would rather be studying for my tests tomorrow—wow, since when do I want to study?

I pull out my phone. No, still no texts from Ikuto. What the hell could he be doing? You are probably wondering how I came to my senses, as the Guardians like to say, and why I must be this obsessive about Ikuto.

Four years ago, I remember the Airport and him kissing me _just near_ my lips. At the time, I was irrational. I was selfish and somewhat heartless when he left me. Months passed, and I was lonely; there was no cat to bother me. It was nice for a while, because I always expected him to come out of nowhere to make a perverted joke. What a creep, right? Anyway, a year passed before I heard his voice again. _"I want to hold you in my arms and never let you go"_ was what he said.

Tadase never said anything like that before. He only showered me with "I love you" practically every day until two ago, and I thought they had no sentimental value after only a year of him saying it—in fact, I was getting annoyed. With Ikuto, on the other hand, he completely blew me away with his teases and lovely sayings that whenever he called, I would feel the butterflies in my stomach and my heart would possibly skip a few beats. That's when I knew:

It was probable that I was in love with him. Now, when I see him again, I'll know; right now, it's just the feeling of emptiness in my heart where I feel so damn lonely without him. So I look at my phone every day, hoping he sends me something, _anything_, to know that he's okay and I can still hope. I open a blank text message and sit there for a minute. What would I say to him?

I typed a message in the box: "Hey, what are you doing?!" Maybe that'd get his attention away from his father (did he even find him yet?). I send the message and close the phone. I hear a faint noise in the distance; it was the wind with the flagpole. I sit there and wait. And wait. And wait. Soon enough, I get impatient and open my phone again. The time reads 4:03 PM; since when were the Guardians ever late? My phone vibrates. He actually responded?

I see his name highlighted: my heart starts to beat really fast now. God, if he saw me like this, what would he say! "Okay, calm down Amu!" I whisper to myself. I am getting giddy about this! I click the button and read the text: _"Just admiring the beauty around me." _…How do I respond to something like this?!

I type back: "What does it look like?" and send it again. The noise from the flagpole ruled over the noises around me and I sat there again. The time was 4:05; why were they late? I look around and find no traces. I sigh and wait for a response; it comes seconds after I thought that. My heart starts to pound again and I can feel my nerves taking over. I click the button and glance at the picture.

What? This is…is the gazebo. And…that's…me. My eyes widen. I push my chair out and I turn around. I start to panic at this point, because Ikuto is standing right in front of me. He is smiling, and I can't help but want to cry. He starts to ascend the stairs and my heart starts to beat faster and faster; I blush. He smirks.

"Some things never change about you, huh, Amu?" Wha—he actually did say that! I turn my head away, again in selfishness, and frown.

"N-No! B-Besides, what are you doing here anyway? Aren't you supposed to find your father?" I turn back just to see him and he is on one of the steps. Gosh, he doesn't look any different. Maybe just a bit of longer hair in the back, his face more matured, and he's probably taller (I can't tell from this height). Then again, I haven't really changed either: I still have my pink hair, my childish face, my small body. Why does nothing ever come my way?

He puts his phone in his pocket. "Aw, does my little Strawberry not want to see me after so long?" I can't deny that one. I feel my face heat up again and he smiles. "I came here to see you, Amu. I found him two months ago, in Italy. And I told you I'd come back when I found him." I can't deny that either. On the phone a year ago, he did tell me: _"I'm coming back after I find him. Just wait."_

He didn't break that promise, that's for sure. "B-But…" He starts to walk again.

"All this time, Amu, I've only thought about you. All this time, my mind was looking for my father, but my heart ached to see you again. I was finding everything I wanted, but I left something I needed," he's now at the top where I am and I stand up. Wow, he did grow! He smiles and wraps an arm around me. "I'm home _here_, with you." I lean my head against his chest; his heart is beating at the same rhythm as mine!

My lips start to tremble. Oh, how it feels to just hear his voice again, not to mention having him here…! I feel water threaten to fall out of my eyes and I feel his hold on me get even tighter. "I need you, Amu, that's all I need in my life. Without you, it's empty." How his words reflected my own! "The world is lonely without you. I could have everything in the world, but nothing compares to you. Please, Amu, please accept my love."

How can't I? I wrap my own arms around him and hold on so very tight. "I don't want you to leave again," I whisper. That's all my heart would allow.

"How can I leave you again? It was a mistake to leave you in the first place; I'd never leave without you by my side," and I smile. I can't hate him for leaving; he had to fulfill his dream of seeing his father again. I can't be mad.

We stand there for a few moments, just holding each other before I finally whisper: "I accept, Ikuto, because I fell in love with you the moment you left," I hear his sigh of relief and his heart starts to beat faster. My heart keeps up. I know he's smiling, and he knows I'm smiling. There's no doubt. I feel him kiss my head and god, does that feel amazing.

I don't care if people ask about our age difference. I'm 16, he's 21. I know he can wait a few more years before doing anything; hell, he's waited this long to actually not tease me. "By the way, Amu," he whispers, "I think I won the bet." Scratch that, he can still tease me.

I laugh and push away from him. I shake my head in disgust and run down the stairs. He yells, "Wait up!" before being by my side once again. When his hand envelopes my own, it's Heaven on Earth. So, I ditched the Guardian meeting (apparently, it started ten minutes after Ikuto came) but I didn't care. I am happy right now, and that's all a girl can ask for. After all, Ikuto is my little Kitty.

**So, maybe I'll just update once a day (or once every two days) to keep up with these days. Hm. That's possible.**

**This is in Amu's Point of View, obviously. I'll have some of her views scattered in with some of the days. I couldn't think of anything for Ikuto today, so this is what I wrote xD Sometimes, you need a break from all that worrying junk!**

**Yes, this is how they confessed. Maybe I'll have Ikuto's view one day (tomorrow?) but for now, this'll do. Would this actually happen? Probably not! But a girl can dream~**

**What'll happen tomorrow? Who knows. I haven't decided. All I know is that it'll be in Ikuto's view once again. DUN DUN DUNNNN. Will I have a chapter about Amu's cafe experience? Most likely. We'll see how THAT turns out 8)**

**Thank you for the reviews again! I can't stress enough how I love to read your comments or critiques, love or hate. They bring a smile to my face! AND! I write faster when I see people actually reviewing. Gives me some inspiration!**

**So review! And please..REVIEW! I must get back to writing my other stories and watch some football now 8)**

**Until next time!**

**TLS**


	4. Day Four

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara!**

_Day Four_

I didn't see her yesterday. They kicked me out after a few hours being in that hospital. I actually fell asleep holding her hand, hoping for some kind of a twitch to know that maybe she knows I was there. But the nurses ruined it and yelled at me for being there. Once again, two hopefuls in love and no one seems to care.

So I'm following my tail once again. I have seen the Guardians around town today, but I'm meeting Utau. She's been wanting to see me—what great timing my sister has—for a while now and I don't mind seeing her anyway. It'll be nice to maybe stray away from Amu for now. Get my mind off of it, you know?

I heard her family visited yesterday, when the nurses found me early. I lie, I saw them outside her room when I was coming out. Her mother, trying to keep her composure, broke down and ran inside the room. I heard her screams (again, if I had cat ears, I know they would be drooped) for her "poor baby girl" and I saw her hunched over the side of the bed. She looked out where we all were and was highly dramatic.

"How could you, Ikuto!" I turned away from her and began to walk away. I knew I wasn't welcomed. Ami cried for me, but I knew better to turn around. So here I am. Funny, I'm meeting Utau at the café Amu wanted to try. Maybe I can finally bring her here when she wakes up.

If she wakes up.

No, I can't think like that. I've been in and out of these optimistic and pessimistic lulls the past 24 hours. Yesterday, I believe I was pessimistic. I cried day and night from just looking at smiling pictures of Amu and I, and I even cried looking at strawberries! I know, pathetic. Today, it's been mostly optimism, except for that little snippet. I know she'll wake up. She has to, right?

I'm walking the same route since three days ago. Only, I'm not smiling and looking forward to going to the café this time; I'm rather depressed. Utau is calling me right now, but I have a feeling that if I answer the phone, I will have nightmares about Amu later. I'll continue to walk, thank you. I see the Guardians out and about today on this same street.

They don't know about Amu yet. For one thing, I don't have the guts to tell them. For another, it's too soon to let her friends visit (hell, even I can't visit). I don't know what they would do if I told them, anyway. I certainly can't be judged by the almost adults these days. Not again, at least.

I'm turning the corner to the café. God, I can imagine myself doing this with Amu. I want to pretend that she was never hit by the car in the first place, that she made it safe and sound and we would be enjoying a cup of coffee or something. I look in the street where she was hit. I can see the blood still in the gravel, engraved in the tar, but it's been washed away. It never happened, according to those driving around.

I see Utau. She's smiling at least, so I better put on a smile, too. She runs up to me—she's going to hug me. I feel her arms wrap around my waist and, man, did that feel kind of good. I haven't had anyone hold me since I last saw Amu _alive_ and she is here to just put that all away. "Ikuto!" she smiles up to my face. At least someone is still happy to see me.

"Hello, Utau," she drags me into the café and points to a table.

"I already picked a table, since you're really late!" I am late by three minutes! I shrug and sit down at the table. There's already drinks in front of me: something that smells like coffee and something else that smells like a fruity tea. That must be hers.

I look at her and she is already drinking hers! "What do I owe the pleasure of meeting my sister here?" She looks up from her drink and sets the cup down. She is a little irritated at that.

"I can check up on my brother, you know! It's not a crime!"

"You usually don't want to do this kind of stuff though. We could've done this over the phone," I say. She violently shakes her head and I bring the cup to my lips. Not bad; it tastes like vanilla and chocolate.

"I wanted to see you, though!" I nod and bring the cup back on the plate. She leans back in her chair. She's unusually cheery. "So, Ikuto, how are you?" I bet I look like crap, and she probably sees this, but I smile.

"I'm fine, Utau. And yourself?" I can only be polite when I'm hurt, apparently. After all, she is my little sister.

She shrugs. I guess not so good after all. "I've had better moments, but it seems life is alright at this time," she smiles and I nod. That's good; at least someone in the family is having a wonderful life. She leans against the edges of the table and looks at my face. "Are you sure you're okay? Your bottom eyelids," Shit, "they're a bit red. Are you sick?" I shake my head.

"No, no, just a few things going on right now." She has a questioning look on her face and leans away. She takes another sip of her drink—as do I—and she shrugs. "Well, if you're okay, I guess that's all I can ask for," I smile and look out at the street again.

God, why am I expecting Amu to walk through the door right now? Not only that, why am I picturing the car crash again? "Ikuto?" I turn to my sister. She has a worried look on her face.

"Hm?" She looks out at the street and has that nervous smile some people have when they're worried. I don't know if you would know what I am talking about, but she has that right now.

"Is something wrong? Is something out there?" I shake my head almost immediately. I don't want her to know, but if she asks, I'm obliged to tell. She sighs and smiles. "Good. Now, I asked: How's Amu?" My heart skips a beat. I lean against the table and I instantaneously start to cry. God, I didn't know her name had that kind of an effect on me when said aloud! Utau, such an "innocent" girl, she means no harm, I know that.

She doesn't know what to do. I just have tears spilling down my face as I continue to look outside at the street. It feels like that day all over again. My heart is being ripped apart and my mind is in a frenzy as to what to do next. "Ikuto! I'm sorry!" Utau starts to apologize. For what? She didn't really do anything wrong. "Did you break up? I'm terrible!"

I shake my head. The scent of that drink is calming my spirit and heart a little bit and I look up at Utau. If I didn't want to see anyone worried, it would be right now. "Utau," I manage to get out. She walks around the table and wraps her arms around me. I needed this, really bad; I cried into her shoulders. I have never done this with her; it was always her crying on my shoulder. This is just a little weird, I know.

"What happened? You can tell me," she whispered. I know she wants to know after I _just broke down_. I am afraid to tell her. What if she hates me after I say it? I don't care anymore: I need to tell someone, _anyone_, and hope they can still trust me with her love and support. Because, more than anything, I need Amu back in my arms.

I catch my breath. "Amu, she…" I can't even say her name aloud! What is wrong with me? I catch my breath again: "Outside this café, she…" Utau looks back outside. I wonder if she pieced it together yet. "She was hit by a car…and now, now Utau, she's in the hospital!" I scream it. I don't care if the other customers are staring at me; I'm broken right now. Utau pulls away to see me just crying my eyes out and asks:

"Is…is she okay?" She has a horrified look on her face.

"She's in…in a coma," I still find it hard to believe she's in a coma, but she is. Utau wraps her arms around me again and I continue to cry. I can feel the top of my head getting wet. I continue on, though: I need to let it out! "I was there, Utau! I heard her scream a few blocks away, but I saw her on the ground. Her blood…" I look at my palms and still see the dried blood in the cracks. "Her blood was everywhere, Utau. And all the injuries to her body…" I'm horrified myself. Yes, this would give me nightmares, I'm sure.

She holds on tighter. "It's okay, Ikuto; I'm sure she'll pull through." Yes, we can only hope.

**Hm. I didn't want to add Utau into this mess, but the deed is done.**

**So! This is chapter four, day four, whatever you want to call it. Pretty simple. I think you can figure out what's going on 8) I thought about having this _tomorrow's_ day, but let's have Ikuto be angsty. No need to have him happy! 8P**

**Oh yeah, this story is pretty under the weather. What I mean by that is that it's not popular xD Hm. Maybe my summary sucks. Oh well. Maybe someone will come across this and promote me. Maybe. I think I know why it's not popular: because it's not the norm? Like, I'm not having Amu going after him. They're already together and in love. What else could there be?! D; Sorry if you guys are turned of by this story..? Eh. Oh well. I like this story. It's fun!**

**Uh, it's going to be a while before he stops crying and that. And it'll be about two to three more chapters before he goes back to seeing Amu, so... if you're reading this just waiting for him to go back to the hospital, sorry, you have to wait. WAIT DANG IT!**

**Thank you for all the lovely reviews! (And messages!? Sweet!) Again, if you need to say anything, ask anything, or just talk to me, I'm always here to converse with everyone! 8) That's what I do, I need to entertain my readers. **

**So review, message, whatever you want to get my attention! I'll reply! I promise!**

**Until next time!**

**TLS**


	5. Day Five

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara!**

_Day Five_

I haven't been to this school in a long time. I feel as though it's changed on me and I'm supposed to know my friends are meeting me later. But, we're adults now; they wouldn't be here. I see kids running to their friends, sitting on benches reading literature, or walking to their next class. I probably stick out like a sore thumb: I'm the only person here wearing a suit this fancy.

A girl stops me and says, "Excuse me, but where exactly are you going?" This was where the Guardians meet, right?

"I need to talk to the Guardians," I start to walk again but she stops me again! What is with this girl?

"I'm sorry, but you cannot go in there. They don't like people disturbing their meetings," I sigh and place my hands on her shoulders. She wants to scream, I know. I just whisper back, "They know me. I'm sure they won't mind," and she nods. I'm afraid I feared the poor girl. And to think, back then, I had women swooning over me.

God, I remember this place though. This was where I confessed to her. She looked gorgeous, just like every other day I saw her. I was away for a long time, ignorant about what she felt. It must've been hard on her. But I remember her body latched against my own, my lips touching hers ever so lightly, my legs running to her when she tried to leave. Of course, I couldn't do any of this without teasing my girl, so I had to make sure she knew I was there.

But, my god, I didn't know my love for her could even grow. After that day, and the days to follow, I felt more and more attached to her. Even now I feel as though there is some bond connecting us. It's magical, and I didn't think I would feel this way for anyone. I'm glad to have met her. And I'm also glad to have fallen in love with her.

I open the door to the Guardian's meeting. There they all are, sitting around a table drinking some kind of tea this week. Rima is the first to look at me and ask, "Where's Amu, Ikuto?" It's hard not to cry when I hear her name. I try not to say it out loud, because I always break down into crying fits and they don't stop until maybe ten minutes later. It's horrible.

The rest of them turn to me: Tadase, Nagahiko (or was that Nadeshiko?), Yaya, and Kukai, all of them staring at me. Most of them are smiling and the only one that's not is Rima. They've all grown up so fast! My Amu is the exception; she still looks the same from years ago. I tell her that all the time and she always gets mad at me. "Ikuto, I have grown up!" I then always reply:

"Nothing about you has changed, Amu. Well, except maybe your breasts." I then would get a slap in the face and we'd laugh about it for a while. Always the blushing type, that girl. I start to walk up the stairs towards the group and they start talking about where she could be; I have a feeling Rima knows. "Maybe they're going on their honeymoon this week!" Yaya says.

"No way!" Kukai exclaims, "They have to get married first before they go on a honeymoon!" At least someone has brains in the group.

"Wouldn't that be lovely, though?" Nagehiko mumbles to herself. The only one that hasn't joined in the discussion is Tadase (Rima is an exception; she never talks). I find it odd, but, then again, he is never the one to talk in the first place; always the shy prince. I stop at the top of the stairs and hear everyone laughing.

Why am I always the bearer of bad news? "Yes," I reply, "it would be lovely," and I smile. I can't stop thinking about her being right next to me right now, smiling and carrying on. Maybe I should just say that we're married and going on our honeymoon; at least that'd be some good news. They all smile towards me and ask the same question: "So, Ikuto, where is she?" Tadase looks up at me and asks another question:

"She's not answering her phone, she's not in school, and she hasn't been showing up for meetings. Where could she be?" Damn. The look on his face makes me want to cry, and the sound of his voice being that way makes me want to cry even more! It's almost like he's pitying me! I place my hands on the back of Kukai's chair and sigh. Damn, I don't want to do this.

I feel their smiles fading away. I get the feeling they know something is wrong. "Amu, she's," I stop for a moment. I need to catch myself from crying, but I already feel the tears in my eyes. I said her name, and to have that kind of a powerful effect on me is something else. "A few days ago, she was in an accident." I blink and feel a tear run down my face. I hope no one sees this. I look up at Tadase and the rest of them and I feel them thinking the worst: she's dead.

I can't think that. "On the way to some café in town, she was struck by a car," By this time, I know they're asking the same thing: is she okay? "She's okay," and I hear all of them sigh a breath of relief, "She's in the hospital right now, but…" I look at all of them with a grim expression on my face, "But she's in a coma. They don't know when she'll wake up, or if the swelling in her brain will decrease. All I know is that she's in pain, and she's not waking up," I start to cry and all of them except for Rima shoot out of their chairs and run to the exit.

If only I could do that. I haven't seen her since the first day she was admitted into the hospital, and here I am, telling them bad news. It should've been her family, but they already hate me (except for Ami, who has a weird fascination with me). I hear the doors close behind me and then hear Rima's voice: "Why didn't you tell them sooner?" So she did know.

I look over at her--I probably look like a wreck--and she wipes her face with a napkin. "I knew because I volunteer at that hospital once a week, as a part of a school assignment here. I happened to pass her room and see her lying on the bed. Those charts are nasty to read, and I, too, broke down in horror." I slide around the chair to sit down and I can't stop crying. I know I have to stop somehow, but it hurts to know that she's in a hospital bed without me.

Rima looks over at me and asks, "Why was she going to the café, Ikuto?" I think she's already put two and two together. I rest my head on my hands and my arms on the table.

"She and I were going to meet up there," I solemnly whisper. Rima nods and stands up from the table.

"It seems you're in a lot of pain, Ikuto," she rests her hand on one of my shoulders and I tense up; she feels almost like Amu. I'm getting my hopes up again. "But I don't blame you," I close my eyes and smile. Yes, that's what I need.

I need someone that trusts me. She starts to walk away from me and opens the door to the conservatory. "I think you should see her again, Ikuto," she whispers to me before closing the door. Yes, that's what I need to do: I need to see her again. My Amu, my little Strawberry, my other Kitten. I need my other half next to me all the time, because without her, the world seems a bit darker and less happy. I open my eyes and look down at my phone.

If only she were still here, to just talk to me, then everything would be fine.

* * * *

He caught up to me eventually. We placed our hands into each other's and walked together for the first time in a while. All the Guardians seemed to smile at me each time I passed them in the hallway without Ikuto by my side, and every step I took was another step towards him. Because, at the end of each hall, I would see him looking for me, too.

At the end of the day, I left my classroom. To think, I actually skipped classes! I'm waiting outside now, watching everyone leave the school grounds with someone by their side. Sooner or later, I'll feel this way. It's a shame that Ikuto doesn't go to school anymore (but he wanted to experience school again, so he said, "I'll sneak in today to see what's going on here") because I have no one else to see or talk to besides the Guardians.

I feel someone lift me up from off the brick wall next to school. I don't realize it's Ikuto right away, so I start to panic. "Hey! What are you doing?!" I am set down on the ground and I spin around to see Ikuto smiling away at me.

"Aw, Amu, you're so mean. You have forgotten my touch already?" I blush. He starts to laugh. "There you go again with the blushing," I hide my face in my hands and feel so embarrassed. Since when do I feel this way with Ikuto? He laughs again and wraps his hands around my wrists; they are so warm.

I can hear a few people in the schoolyard talking about us, like "Who's the guy with her? Isn't he a bit old?" and "Are they a couple!?" I try to ignore it, but my blushing seems to only get worse. "Ikuto," I whisper, "they're talking about us! Can't we go somewhere else?" He takes my hands away from my face and I look up at him. He smiles. I can't help but smile back. He whispers:

"Hm? You want to keep our love a secret?" I blush again. Damn him and his words! He releases my wrists from his grasp and brushes a few strands of hair away from my face. If my face wasn't red before, it is now. "Because I want the whole world to know. So they talk about us; will that stop us from loving each other?" I can feel (and possibly hear) my heart against my chest racing like crazy. He leans closer to me; I'm too happy to move, it seems.

I can see people watching us, as if that's not embarrassing enough. "Let them watch, Amu," he whispers. As if that's not creepy enough, either! He smiles. "And let them witness what love looks like," My eyes widen and his close. It's the first time we've kissed (except that one time at the airport, but he didn't kiss me on the lips!) and it's so _light_. I thought he would be a bit more aggressive--I guess I was wrong. My eyes close and I lean towards him; my heart seems to be calmer now.

He leans away from me and I open my eyes; we're both smiling. He starts to walk away and says, "Come on, let's go home," and I stand there in awe. My mind is trying to piece together what just happened! Then, I realize he's not next to me and I turn around.

"H-Hey! Wait up!" I run towards him and crash my body into his when he turns around. I have to hug him; there's always room for more romance. He holds me back (I know he's blushing!) and I smile against his chest. Yes, this is what I need.

And I'll never let him go.

**BOOM! Sorry that I haven't updated in a while. School has gotten me in a stressed manner. DAMN YOU SCHOOL!**

**So. This is the chapter when Ikuto tells the Guardians about Amu. And this is also the chapter where we see more romance between Amu and Ikuto. You'll see those in quite a few chapters, when it goes from Ikuto's view to Amu's. Trust me, it's going to get confusing.**

**Let's reply to some reviews, shall we?!**

**Himeka Tsukiyomi: 8D Thanks for the lovely reviews! I'll make sure I continue to make great chapters~  
drega: Oh, I plan on writing more from all the love I've gotten so far! Thank you!  
Mokona: I hope you still love the story! And I hope you're not too confused on Amu's dreams D8  
Rosara1bunny: Poor Ikuto indeed!  
Secret Ars: Haha! I know! Don't we all wish he would've arrived a bit sooner? Yes, that was a dream of Amu's. You'll see those come and go during the story. Maybe I should warn people about that... Thank you for the lovely reviews!**

**Thank you everyone who has reviewed so far! And thank you for those that have put me on a story alert or a favorite stories list or whatever else there is on this site! If you have anything you want to say to me, please! You can review! I'll take criticism and love!**

**So review! I'll love you for it if you do 8)**

**Until next time! **

**TLS**


	6. Day Six

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara!**

_Day Six_

I've been staring at her smiling picture all morning. This is ridiculous, I need to go out somewhere. Let me get my mind off this tragedy, at least!

* * * *

I'm at the mall. I walk by numerous stores with girls (and some boys) running in and out in a hurried manner. Some are laughing and carrying on and others are holding bags for another. I see different kiosks trying to sell different items to those that walk by, different restaurants dishing out samples in hopes of someone walking into that restaurant, and people just being _happy_.

It's approximately one o'clock in the afternoon on a Saturday, probably one of the busiest times for businesses. I can't help but notice wherever I turn, there's a couple sitting down at some table, sharing an ice-cream cone or enjoying a meal together. I continue walking through the mall in hopes of some kind relief or consoling through sales. Maybe a good book will do.

I walk into one of the few bookstores in the mall. It's not as crowded as some businesses but it's still pretty lively. I find a few people looking at me in an odd manner; they must recognize me. After all, I was famous for a while with my father. Ah, yes, my father. I almost completely forgot about him; perhaps I could give him a call. But he would not want to talk about something as horrible as this, so maybe not. I sigh and continue to browse through the genres.

A few girls came up to me for autographs already. I always oblige, so I did what they asked. At one point a woman came up to me, claiming she went to school with me. It was absurd, because she was in her forties, not her twenties. I ignored her and continued to look through the books. Right now, I'm in the history section. I am never interested in history, but it's keeping me focused on what I know.

A woman is in this aisle with me. I look over at her and catch a glimpse of her face. I swear, I know her from somewhere. She looks at me and our eyes meet; great, now a conversation will spark. "I'm sorry," she mumbles and moves passed me. It is a cold air that walks with her and goes right through my bones. She hits the bookshelf and a few books gently fall to the ground. She turns around and stares at them. She looks like she's about to cry!

I wonder who this girl is. "No, no," I say to her in reassurance. I bend over and touch the books. They're mainly World War II books and the strategies the Japanese had during the war. She bends over as well and picks one of them up. She's rather interested in the book. She looks up at me and then back down at the book. I look at her in confusion and hear her talk.

"You know," she says, "they say that if we would've never attacked the United States, then the Atomic Bomb could've never happened." She has the softest voice and it was a bit hard to hear her because of all the noises outside. She smiles and hands me the book. Our hands touch and she jerks back once that happens. What..?

I stand up with the books in my hands and speak. "It would have delayed the project of the atomic bomb," she nods in agreement. Perhaps that would've happened, but it's hard to tell with history. I place the books back on the shelf and she stands up. She has a few history books in her hands as well, but she had those when she walked past me.

She smiles again and says, "And, perhaps, it would've never been invented at all," she looks down at the books in her hands. They're all about the history of the atomic bomb. "Then again, the United States could've been planning this all along, what with Einstein's theory and all," she looks up at me and I nod. She blushes and shakes her head.

"Oh, sorry, you must think I'm babbling on about this." I shake my head. Actually, it's nice hearing something new. The girl is intelligent, after all. She moves the books around in order to have a free hand before holding out said hand. I look down; she wants to shake hands?

Although I am no fan of personal contact, it was nice for once to have met someone like her. "I'm Saaya." Wait. I know her. She was the stalker in high school; this can't possibly be the same Saaya! "I know, you probably remember me from high school, Ikuto," she says. How much has she changed over the years? "but since I graduated College, I've found myself, whether it be the nerd in society or the quiet girl no one will talk to." She really has changed. I shake her hand.

"I must say, you have changed quite a bit." She blushes again. She must still have some kind of a feeling towards me, or maybe she's just embarrassed. She nods in agreement again and smiles. "But why the quiet voice? You used to be lively," _And loud_, but I do not add that. It might be rude in her eyes. She takes in a deep breath then lets it out.

"Yes, well, I like this voice a bit more. The loud voice I had before hurt my throat, to tell you the truth. This is rather soothing." Well, that's an odd concept. I nod, though, and we release hands. Somehow, I'm already missing the warmth. "You have changed as well, Ikuto," she whispers it and I almost didn't catch it. She bows in respect and whispers, "Sorry, but I must be going." Before I know it, she disappears within the crowd of people. It was an abrupt exit; why?

I run out from the aisle and look for her. She has to be going to the registers with the books. The crowd of people, however, is too large for me to pinpoint where she is located. I get to the front of the store and I don't see her. Where did she run off to? And why did she run away so fast? I run out of the place and look both ways down the long hallways; she was wearing a pink tunic with jeans, that's all I know. I see someone with a pink shirt; it will not hurt to run.

So I run. For what purpose, though? I don't even know why she intrigues me; I haven't seen her since high school! I catch up to the person and find that it is her. I grab her arm and pull her away from the crowds. There's something about her that makes it so fascinating. And for some reason I want to know why. Something tugging at my heart to know; I have to find out. She tries to break free from my grasp, but I just want to know one thing:

"Why did you leave so soon?" She's been crying. She looks so innocent, nothing like what she has looked like since I last saw her. I feel pretty bad now and release her. She rubs her arm from the mark I left her—it's a big red handprint—and she sniffs. God, I didn't mean to make her cry! Actually, I didn't even try to make her cry.

She bows again and says, "I'm sorry," she stands straight again and then yells, "but I didn't mean to see you again!" She runs off again. I stand there with the crowds again walking behind and in front of me as I watch her continue to dodge everyone coming at her. I hear my phone ring before I can realize what just happened and pull it out of my front pocket. It's a text message. I open my phone and click the button.

My eyes widen and I completely shut down. It's from Saaya. How did she get my number? I look at the received time: it was about two minutes before this, when she first ran out the bookstore. "I had to get away," it said, "because I knew how much pain I caused you in the past. I don't want to make the same mistakes again, so I can never see you again. Besides, you already caused me pain today; I don't want to make the same mistake."I receive another message from Saaya.

"I'm sorry," this one reads, "I didn't mean that. I meant to say I cannot see you that upset over your tragic accident. I can only hope that everyone can see you smile again once Amu recovers." I am suddenly confused. How did she know about Amu? And for that matter, why is Amu brought up? I then recall every emotion since Amu has been in the hospital. One more text comes: it's from Rima. "You better come to the hospital soon." No, this can't be.

I hear the news on the TV above me and listen: _"Hinamori Amu, the woman who was struck by a vehicle this past Monday, is in critical condition. Doctors fear the worst as she begins to deteriorate in health. Experts suggest she is going to be brain dead in a matter of days if her health continues to fall." _No, this really can't be. I see Amu's mother and father on the screen, along with Ami being held by her father, and they all have tears running down their faces.

"_I want the person responsible to be put in jail,"_ they already have the guy, don't they? _"and I do not mean the driver of the car." _She looks at the camera, almost staring directly at me. No, please don't say it. _"Tsukoyomi Ikuto, you are the murderer of my daughter! This is all your fault!" _Amu's mother is gone and the reporter is back on the screen. I'm in disbelief. _"Police are now looking for the man known as Tsukoyomi Ikuto. If anyone has information on his whereabouts, please contact the authorities."_ My heart, it hurts so much.

I start to run from everyone. Who knows who could recognize me from the news now! I'm on the lam for something I did not do. I get a text from Utau and I read it on my way out the door. "Ikuto, they are blaming you! You didn't kill her! Come by my place, we'll keep you safe." And that's the direction I am heading towards. I can't help but feel tears run down my face and my heart breaking with every step. I can't go back to the hospital yet.

Amu, please, you have to understand! Hold on, just hold on…

**So, more of emo-Ikuto. Trust me, he'll get to the hospital soon. **

**Uh, so if you don't like Saaya, maybe you'll like my Saaya? Yeah, she changed from being that overdramatic ... girl to a matured one. Maybe this time she'll stay away from him! Also, you won't see the last of her or Amu's mother. Just a heads up. ****Ami will play an important role, too! Wait for that.**

**Hm. I don't think I have much else. I need to write for my other story now, so hopefully that goes over well 8) **

**Thank you for all the lovely reviews! I appreciate the love! And if you have anything to say to me, please! Tell me! Message me, review, whatever! Get my attention!**

**Until next time!**

**TLS**


	7. Day Seven

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara!**

_Day Seven_

Utau made sure the television was off when I fell asleep. I was watching the news, listening to Amu's mother scream at me over and over again and I couldn't help but listen. She must've came into my room late last night. Weird, this bed feels different, and I feel colder than when I went to bed. I open my eyes to find my face looking straight at the back seat of a car. I rub my eyes with my hand and sit up. Yes, I'm in her car.

Kukai and her are in the front seat—it figures she's driving and he seems a little agitated—as silent as I have ever heard them. Kukai looks in the rearview mirror and turns around, completely ignoring the road he's on. "Oi! Ikuto's awake!" Utau then starts to shout.

"Kukai! Watch the road! I am not dying today!" Yes, I do not need two car accidents to worry about. Kukai quickly turns around and they both start to bicker.

"I had complete control of this car. I was not going to get into any sort of accident!" She huffs and grunts.

"You almost hit an old woman with her granddaughter!" Kukai sighs and continues to drive. Utau turns to me and smiles.

"Ikuto! You were asleep for the longest time! Did you have a good dream?" I lean back in the seat and close my eyes. Now that she mentions it, I did.

Amu and I were talking to each other, as if she were awake right now and smiling like she always does. We are connected, I know it; she was telling me she was in no pain and how she was still dreaming about me even in a hospital bed. I smiled and leaned towards her.

"So, you even dream about me?" She blushed. Even in my dreams, she seems to blush that cute bright red I love very much. She waves me off and starts to become flustered. Just the Amu I love, right there, right in front of me.

"N-Not like that, Ikuto! I mean about the good times and the bad times together!" I continued to smile. She still thought I'm that _perverted_. Well, I wouldn't disagree; I can be at times. She shook her head and blushed even more. "And we haven't even done _that_ yet, so you shut up, mister!" She looked up at my face and smiled. Man, I started to cry when she did; I miss it.

She moved towards me and placed her cold hand on my warm face. She started to wipe away the tears and whispered, "Are you crying?" I nodded. I can't lie to her. "Why? I'm fine, Ikuto! You can't possibly miss me that much, right? I'm right here," she moves her hand on my chest, above my heart, "and I always will be, in a coma or not." I hold her in my arms and she leaned into my chest. It felt _wonderful_ to have her in my arms again. I kissed the top of her head and closed my eyes.

"I'll always be there, Ikuto," and she disappeared. That's when I woke up.

I open my eyes to see the car at a stop and Utau still staring at me, anticipating my answer. "Yes, actually," I said, "because I dreamt of her," and she smiles. Kukai exits the car and I look out the windows; we're in a parking lot? I look at Utau, who's unbuckling her seat-belt, and turns back around to look at me once more.

"Well, that's great! So does that mean you're ready for your big day?" I am confused; what does she mean?

"My big day?" I ask. She nods and Kukai opens my door now. He is holding out his hand and smiling, just like he always does.

"Come on, Ikuto, man! Let's go!" I glance over at Utau, who is exiting the car, and I follow suit. I feel the pavement below and the sun beating down on my skin; it's warm. I am hoping for a cold day soon so I can feel her once more. I look around again and see a building behind us. No, we're…

"We're at the hospital, Ikuto! We're going to see Amu today!" I freeze. What if her family is there? What if her _mother_ is there? What about Amu? Could her condition be worsening? Is she okay? I start to tense up when Kukai pushes me towards the hospital and Utau holds my arm; this can't be happening. "We are not letting you skip another day without seeing her, so you needed to come here today to say hello! Besides, if I were not holding onto you right now, you would make a dash for it," well, that is true.

The doors open and this smell is very familiar. It's sanitary and clean, with a hint of life and death on the ropes. The bright lights create a spotlight for the white lobby and the nurses at the desk are smiling; why? There are plants all over the place to give some color to this place, but I don't care. I've never been a plant lover, anyway. Utau races up to the desk and signs us all in; the nurses are giving me weird looks. Yes, you saw me on the television.

Ah, I almost forgot. I had gotten a phone call last night before I fell asleep. It was the police. They questioned me, like: "Where were you at this time?" and "Why did she call you?" and other stupid questions. They reassured me that I am not a suspect in the injuries Amu received, and told me that the suspect was in custody anyway. It still doesn't give me reassurance about her _mother_.

Utau grabs my arm again and drags me down a hallway. This must be the comatose patients, because all of them are in the quiet rooms, dreaming about loved ones and the lives they are missing. Kukai states, "I'm going to see her first!" and runs into a room about halfway down the hall. Utau grunts in anger again and mumbles to herself: "It was suppose to be you going in there, not him!" I smile: always the fighter.

A few minutes later, Kukai leaves the room and grabs me, letting Utau now enter the room. I look at him and he is smiling; again, why? "She looks pretty good compared to a couple days ago, man. They say her condition is slowly getting better, so they're looking at about two more weeks of her in the hospital before she wakes up," two _weeks?_ I don't think my heart can take that long. "Her mother was here a couple days ago, too. She told Utau and I: _'Don't let that Ikuto come back. He doesn't deserve her, this treasure._' Looks like we're disobeying rules once more!"

I figure her mother doesn't even want to look at me anymore. She thinks I'm to blame whenever Amu is hurt, crushed, bruised, whatever it may be. I'm not abusive or giving her a hard time; she's the only one I show my full potential of love towards.

Soon, Utau leaves—she has a few tears in her eyes and opens the door for me. Kukai pushes me and laughs. "Go on, man! Tell her everything on your mind and heart!" Sure enough, I'm being pushed more into the room and the door closes behind me. The only sounds I can hear are Amu's heart beats resonating against the walls and her breathing giving my heart a break.

I'm still staring at the door. I can't look at her yet; my heart is too weak to see her in a bed weak and unable to do anything at all. I take in a few deep breaths. I've seen my mother like this before, why can't I do it now? I turn to my right and see her feet in the corner of my eyes. They're covered by a pink—how ironic—blanket that reaches up to her mid-waist. I take a step forward and look around the corner.

There she is, lying in the bed with the machines still hooked up to her. There's a chair right next to her in case visitors come and go. I frown; she does look better. The bruises from last time are almost gone, her wounds are scabbing over, and the blood I saw before is now gone. Her casts are still there for the broken bones and her head is a bit swollen, but otherwise, she looks just like the Amu before the accident. I make my way over to the chair and sit down.

What do I say? I grab her hand, in some sort of consoling mechanism and hoping she'll suddenly wake up—she didn't—and I squeeze. Her heart beat does not change and I'm left looking at her face. "It's been too long, Amu," I suddenly whisper. It has, hasn't it? A week ago, she was on the ground bleeding to death, and just the day before she was laughing and smiling.

I get up from the chair and switch to her bed. She's too far away when I'm in the chair. "Did you hear me last night? Can you hear me now?" She doesn't move. I have too much hope. "It's lonely without you, Amu. I miss your smiles, your blushes, your kisses, and your love." I interlace my fingers within hers and move her arm up; I lay next to her. She was too far away sitting on the edge of the bed.

I can smell her shampoo she always uses: it's strawberry, of course. Her mother must be washing her now and again. "Your mother, she kind of hates me Amu. If you wake up tomorrow, or three weeks from now, believe me, I didn't hurt you. You know I wouldn't." I lean my head on top of hers and feel tears running down my face. "You believe me, don't you?" Of course she will. She always has.

"Amu, I'm sorry for all of this. I love you too much to see you like this. Please, wake up so I can hold you in my arms once more and love you just like we used to when you were in school." I kiss the top of her head and one of her fingers twitches. The doctors warned me the first day that her fingers will do that a couple times an hour. It's a way for them to know the brain still functions. I close my eyes and hear the door open; it must be Utau and Kukai wanting to leave. I don't move. All I can do is whisper:

"I miss you."

**Well. That's pretty angsty. And I told you he would get to the hospital! Trust me, he'll be in there a lot more now.**

**Next chapter will be Amu's view. JUST A FAIR WARNING. **

**Hmmmmmm. Do I have anything else to talk about? Uh..no. Kukai and Utau are so cute 83 I loveeee them! **

**Thank you for the lovely reviews! Keep them coming! And if you have anything to say, message me or review! I read them all! (I'll reply sometime in the future to all of them too!)**

**Until next time! **

**TLS**


	8. Day Eight

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara!**

**NOTE!: This chapter is in Amu's perspective. You have been warned.**

_Day Eight_

It's been a while since I've seen Ikuto. Actually, about a month has gone by since I last saw him. He left Japan to see his father again and tell him about us. It's weird, I know, but if this is his way of letting the whole world know, I suppose there's nothing wrong with that.

Right now, I'm in school, waiting for class to be dismissed and hit the weekend. Ah, yes, the weekend! Normally, I would be with Ikuto for most of the time, given that he cannot let go of me anymore, but this time it's different once more. Since he left, I've devoted my time to actually get my schoolwork done and to have a bit of alone time to myself.

Alone, a word I've hardly had to use in my life. Since my other-selves left me right after Ikuto disappeared the first time, it has been pretty lonely. I have no one to talk to or consult when life gets me down. But! I know they are still there and if I really, really need them, I can always reach them in my heart! I hear the bell ring and see everyone getting up from their desks; the teacher is in front of mine. Oops.

"Himamori," he says. It's Hinamori! Hinamori! I sigh and look up at Nikaido. He looks a bit irritated; gee, I wonder why? "Have you been listening at all to this very important lecture?" Before I can actually answer, Rima saves the day and steps in.

She says, "That's how Amu is, Nikaido, and if she has to daydream about someone or something to listen," I feel my arm grabbed and am now being pulled out of my chair. Apparently she has some control on my body now. "so be it." Before we're out the door, I hear him whisper: "Am I that boring?" and walk away from my desk.

Great, now I feel bad!

Rima lets go of my arm and stands out in the hallway; it is pretty desolate compared to during the day. I see some stragglers pass me by as Rima looks at me. "How many times must I save you from detention?" I laugh. It's been countless times since she's pushed me out of detention. "I won't be here all the time to save you," I nod.

"Of course, of course! I was listening anyway!" She looks at me about to question that lie and I shake my head. "No need, Rima. You already know the answer." She nods and starts to walk away. She doesn't turn around, but I hear her say:

"We're having our meeting in an hour. I suggest doing something to pass the time." Usually, I stay with her or go find Ikuto. Lately, she's been attached to Nagahiko and Ikuto hasn't been around. So, to pass the time, I've been walking around the school grounds. Normally, teachers find it odd for kids to do that; I've been doing it for the past month now, and they know me by name.

Today, I feel like sitting under a tree. I walk outside and smell the fresh air: it's nothing new. I sigh and walk over to my favorite tree. It's full of cherry blossoms at this time of year and it looks just like my hair. Look at me, thinking about only what I look like at this time. I close my eyes and feel myself fall asleep.

My dream is nothing new; Ikuto's in it. This time, though, he looks worried. He reaches out to me and touches my face. "Amu?" Is he sleeping right now? Wow, if he's sleeping and we're dreaming about each other… this is freaky. I touch his hand with my own and somehow, words just fly out of my mouth on their own.

"Ikuto, I'm okay. I'm in no pain and I'm doing okay. Don't worry about me so much, you might worry yourself to death." He smiles. Why did I just say that? _Is_ he worrying about me? Then, his familiar smirk crossed his face. Great.

"So, you dream about me?" I can feel my face heating up. Wha—the nerve of him! How can he be so inconsiderate? Sometimes…

"N-Not like that, Ikuto! I mean about the good times and the bad times together!" Have we really ever had a bad time together? Maybe when I was younger, maybe when I was immature, but…have we? He still smiling; what a pervert. "And we haven't even done _that_ yet, so you shut up, mister!" I'm surprised he doesn't comment on the _yet_ part.

I lean forward and smile. I can't help it; when I'm with him, I can't frown or cry or anything. I always have a smile on my face. He, however, starts to get more and more…_pained_ by my smile and starts to cry! Wha—I've never seen him cry like this! I run towards him and place my hand on his face; it's so warm. Why am I cold? "Are you crying?" I whisper. He nods. He could never lie to me. "Why? I'm fine, Ikuto! You can't possibly miss me that much, right?" He shakes his head.

"It's not that. Why are you asleep? Why won't you wake up?" Wake…up? Am I in a deep sleep? I shake my head and move my hand down to his heart. Something's controlling my movements.

"I'm right here," and I feel his heartbeat calm down. He wraps his arms around me—his hold is always so the type where it never wants to let go—and I smile. "and I always will be," I whisper before closing my eyes against his chest.

"I'm just worried you'll never smile again," What is he talking about? "or when you wake up, you won't know who I am or what happened," Again, Ikuto, what are you talking about? I continue to smile though and feel myself leaving his hold against my will. But I'm still smiling. What is wrong with me? My hand rests on his chest.

"I'll always be there, Ikuto," and he disappears from in front of me. I open my eyes and find myself both covered by cherry blossoms and under the sun. There's someone in the tree, too.

"Dreaming about me, Amu?" I jump right to my feet, flustered, and start to yell.

"Ikuto, I never dream about you!" He smirks and jumps down from the branch. He is literally right in front of me and almost right in my face. I can't help but blush.

"Ah, but why was my name heard by my ears when I arrived, _Amu?_" Damn him and his alluring voice! I turn around and face the school. There's no way I can face him with a straight face.

I frown. "I-It was not your name I called out! B-Besides, I'd never dream about you! And for another thing," I turn back around and he's still smiling! Damn him again! "why didn't you tell me you were coming back?!" He rubs my head with his hand and pulls me into his chest. Yes, this is what always makes me happy and forgets that I'm mad at him. Damn it.

"I wanted to surprise you, Amu. And I know you have been missing me, so I needed to come back," he whispers. I close my eyes and feel his love just flow through my own body while I hold him back. Sometimes, he can get the best of me. I hear his heartbeat against my ear and I smile; yes, he's back.

I feel him kiss the top of my head. "I'm glad you're back, then," I say; I can feel him smile. I look up at him and say, "And yes, I was dreaming about you," he smirks.

"I knew it. So, what could my little Amu dream about if I'm in it?" I shrug.

"I honestly don't know. You missed me and didn't think I was going to wake up," I start to think, "How long, exactly, was I out for?" He takes one of his arms around me and looks at his watch.

"I saw you lay down on the ground about an hour ago. You must've fallen asleep for about forty minutes." An hour?! I jump away from Ikuto and start to panic; oh man, they're going to be ticked!

"Ah! I need to get to the Guardian meeting!" He looks at me in confusion.

"You still have those?" It's a long story, Ikuto. I shake my head and grab his hand. I know he probably doesn't want to come along, but I can't stand to be away from him any longer. Soon enough, he pulls me back so we're not running and we walk to the conservatory. He whispers, "Have you even told them about…_us_?" I twitch.

"N-No…" He smiles.

"Well, want to today?" I look at him with my eyes wide open and right when he opens the doors, I yell:

"WHAT?!"

**There it is. Another Amu chapter. The continuation of this one will be in a couple chapters, so be on the lookout.**

**Hmmmmm. I wonder if the dream thing works. The dream she had is the same Ikuto had the chapter before this, so if you need to refresh your memory, be my guest! It's suppose to be foreshadowing for the characters, but it obviously didn't work the way I wanted it to. Oh well.**

**Day Ten = review replies. I'll make that known right now.**

**I don't think I have anything else. If they are OOC, sorry! I don't mean it! And review! PLEASE! I would LOVE to hear how I'm doing and if you have any questions, you can certainly ask! Don't hesitate! I don't bite 8)**

**So review! And thank you for reading! **

**Until next time!**

**TLS**


	9. Day Nine

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

**Point of View: Ikuto**

_Day Nine_

I wonder if I should talk to her parents. I could call them to perhaps clear the air about why I didn't pick her up that day or why we decided this. Then again, they would never want to talk to someone like me again. I'm in my room right now next to the phone, possibly hoping that Amu would wake up today. Instead, it's a dead silence in the air.

The last time I saw her the nurses couldn't stand me. It was yesterday—I only remember this part because the rest is too emotional to repeat. I was lying on her bed when one of her nurses came in to do a check-up. I could already tell the woman did not like me, nor did she want to talk to me. She had a clipboard in her hand and a surprised look on her face when she saw me.

"Sir, you must get off of the bed," she said. I shook my head. Hell, she's my girlfriend, after all. Why should I move for some nurse that's only going to check her vitals? Another nurse comes through the door, followed by a doctor. Apparently, they work together to know when there's trouble.

The doctor came to my side. "Sir, you need to stay away from the patient. Your movements might cause damage to her brain." I continued to sit there, waiting for them to fill out their clipboard and leave the room so I could continue my story with Amu. Long story short, though: I was kicked out for the rest of the day, only because I would not move from that spot. I contemplated today on whether or not to go, but Kukai and Utau want to meet up at the mall.

It seems like yesterday when I went to the mall, too. And I remember the last time when I coincidentally ran into Saaya. Not that it matters, since I'll never see her again anyway. I can see Utau standing next to Kukai—it looks like she's yelling about something again—and I brush up against her back. She takes a swing at me (she missed) and I laugh. "Same old attitude, Utau."

Utau scoffs and looks over at Kukai. "Well, it's his fault! He's the one that made me this way in the first place!" I look over at him and he shakes his head.

"I-I didn't mean to say that the dress didn't suit you!" I laugh and rub his head.

"You are not the ladies man, Kukai," and he sighs. He knows it. I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket and take it out. The screen is blinking; someone is calling me? It's Amu's cell phone. What the…? I hold out my hand and hope—pray is more like it—that it is Amu. I hesitate to respond when I open my phone, but I do. "H-Hello?"

"Ikuto!" It's Ami. I sigh and rub my head; this whole coma deal will give me a heart attack sooner or later. "Ikuto, will you come to the hospital today?" I look over at Utau and Kukai—I know they're wondering who it is.

"I cannot, Ami," they nod and continue their conversation, "if your family is there with her…" she starts to say "no" over and over again.

"No! My mom is gone shopping today and my dad is in the waiting room! He said I get as much time with Amu as possible!" Something was not right. Why was she given a lot of time with Amu? And without her parents? I look at Utau and shake my head; I had to get to the hospital.

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Can you wait that long?" She happily screams.

"Yes! I'll talk to Amu some more and you can come in here with me!" I smile and we say our goodbyes. I hang up and look at them.

"What was that?" Utau asked. I shake my head and put my phone away.

"I need to reschedule this, Utau. Something's up at the hospital, where Ami's getting as much time with Amu as possible," Kukai is confused, I know it.

"Are you suggesting…?" I shake my head.

"I won't suggest anything until I know the truth." With that, I run off through the mall. God, I hope I make it there in time.

* * * *

Traffic was bad, so I arrived about ten minutes late. I didn't bother signing into the lobby and quickly ran to the ICU area. There's no sign of her father, which is good, and I can hear Ami's laughter, which is really good. I get to Amu's door—I always have to take a deep breath before I go inside—and open it. Inside, there's only Amu, who's lying on the bed with the machines, and Ami, who is right next to her in the chair.

Ami turns around and smiles at me with that big grin of hers. Her eyes are a bit red, so I know she's been crying. "Ikuto!" She jumps from her chair and crashes into my legs. I can feel her petite arms hugging my legs and I rub her head. She looks up at me with a big smile on her face. "You finally made it!" I bend down and pick her up in my arms—she's gotten heavy!

"Ah, yes, well, I was very far away and there were scary demons keeping me away from Amu! I had to fight my way through them in order to get here," she totally bought it. She's the easiest to make fun of in the family, next to Amu. Speaking of which, I look down at her. She's very pale, her skin as white as it could possibly get without a tint of color; her heart rate is normal, vital signs are almost perfect. I look back at Ami. "What exactly are you doing here alone, little girl?" She motions to let her go; I do. She drops to the floor and runs to her sister's side.

She grabs her hand; her eyes never leave Amu's face. "They want to let go," I knew it. They think because she's almost brain dead, she really is dead. They want to take her off life support. "but if I stay in here for a very long time, this will stall them from making Amu go away!" She is intelligent. I sit on the end of the bed and look at Amu. God, if she were to die…

I look at Ami, who is crying once again, and lay on Amu's legs. I close my eyes and feel as though we're just in a field, looking up at the sky without a care in the world. I know, though, that when I open my eyes, we'll be in the hospital. "I'll make sure this never happens, Ami," I know she looks at me, "not when I'm here in Japan." Ami smiles and falls on top of my chest—she's giving me a hug. We sit there for a moment, just the three of us. It's…nice.

I hear the door open. Please, don't be her mother, don't be her mother… "Ami?" It's her father. Him, I can tolerate. I feel her panic and rise from my chest. I open my eyes; yes, we're still in the hospital. I see her run to her father and hug his legs. I look at him: his eyes are directly on me. "What are you doing?" I can't tell if he's talking to me or Ami, but Ami answers.

"I'm still talking to Amu!" He looks down at his daughter and smiles.

"But, Ami, it's been three hours. Your mother is almost back with the proper items to bring Amu some peace," he looks at me, "because we all know she is in pain." I know that's directed at me. I lean forward and bring myself to sit upright on the bed. Ami looks over at me with a worried look and I smile.

"But, dad! Ikuto promised that she would stay alive!" Shit. Surprise, I suppose. I don't think I want to look at him, but I do anyway. He's confused, and disappointed that I'm trying to save his daughter's life when he thinks it's lost. I know for a fact it isn't. "We don't have to say our goodbyes!" _Now_ the anger comes in his eyes. He looks down at Ami—he whispers: "Go outside for a moment, okay?"—and Ami runs off. Shit again. The door closes and it's just the two of us.

For a second, it's silent. Then, I hear his voice. "Why?" I look at him and see this frustration towards me, "After everything you have done to her, you still want her alive? Why can't you just let her rest in peace?" I shake my head.

"She is not brain dead. She is still alive and well. The doctors say she is getting better and she'll make a recovery." He rubs his eyes and I know he's holding back his anger.

"Why are you so stubborn, Ikuto? Answer me that," I shrug.

"I'm in love with her, that's why. I can't let her go," his hands ball into a fist. Damn.

"How can you say that you are in love with her," he rushes over to me and grabs my shirt. I knew this was coming. "when you have done nothing but cause troubles for her! Why must you always be there to knock her down!" My back hits the wall pretty hard and he pushes even more. "You come around here, for what? Condolences? To see if she is okay? You caused this in the first place, Ikuto!" I know. "You are the one we should blame!" I know. "You have no right to keep her alive!" I…don't know.

He takes his hands off of me and steps to my right side; he is looking out the window. I see Ami out in the hallway, scared out of her wits and wanting to come and hug me. I shake my head and look at her father once more. "You know, her mother will not like this. I am not accepting this…behavior of yours, but I will not deny that she is my daughter, and I want her to be alive." He looks at me and smiles the saddest smile I've seen in a long time, excluding my own. "After all, to lose your own sure is a pain I don't want to go through," I know.

He walks away from me and says to Ami, "You can go back in there, now. I'm going to call Mom and tell her some news." He looks back at me and says, "Tomorrow, if you do come back, make sure you are ready to talk," and he walks away. I lean against the window and listen to Amu's breathing still my heart. Ami rushes over to me and hugs my legs for the life of me, and I can't help but wonder what will happen tomorrow.

Only time will tell, I suppose.

**ANGSTY TIME, ALRIGHT! **

**I saved the best scene (for a while) for the 10th chapter. To think, it's almost that milestone! Again, I'll reply to reviews then, so look out for those~**

**Uh, so, I love Ami. She's adorable. In this story, she's 8. I CAN DO MATH, GUYS! **

**I'm looking forward to the smackdown between Amu's mother and Ikuto. MAN, words will be flying! Don't worry; the climatic deal won't happen until the 15th chapter, and after that, the fun stuff (for me, at least) begins! 8) I had to guess what her father would be like, and he's so laid back and all. I couldn't make him SO angry, so I tried to be reasonable.**

**Yeah, I hate her mother. Only because she broke up their romance that one time when Ikuto snuck into her house and took that shower xD Ah, that was a great episode/chapter. **

**Review! If you have ANY questions, REVIEW! I won't do these replies often, so if you really, REALLY want to ask me a question or comment on how awesome/horrible I am, DO IT! Or you can just message me. You know, do whatever you want 8) I just know that I have awesome readers!**

**Until next time!**

**TLS**


	10. Day Ten

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

**Side-note: there is a flashback in this chapter.**

_Day Ten_

I'm in her hospital room with Ami today. Today's different, though; she's still smiling, but I know her mother will be here any minute. Her father was in here before, but he had to pick up his wife from their home in order to prepare for this day. I'm not afraid, but I'm actually kind of nervous about this. I have a feeling this will be like the day when she introduced me to her family (this time formally) but ten times worse.

"_Mama! I'm home!" Amu's mother peeked her head around the corner and smiled. I was outside waiting for some kind of cue to enter the room, but Amu wasn't giving any signal. I just stayed out. _

"_Ah, Amu! Welcome home! How was school today?" Her mother was holding some sort of bowl, stirring its contents until it was thick enough to cook. Amu looked outside and smiled. _

"_It…it was interesting." I smirked and looked through the little pane next to their door. Her mother had a confused look on her face and Amu continued. "Probably one of my better days, Mama." Her mother smiled and ran out from the kitchen._

"_Oh? What happened today?" A little ding from the kitchen was heard and she ran back inside. Amu sat down on the couch and looked at me from the inside. She shook her head; don't come in, got it. _

"_Well, there's this boy, and…" her mother rushed out from the kitchen. Big news for this household._

"_Eh!? Did he ask you out!?" Amu nodded; ah, yes, if that's what you'd like to call it. "Oh, I'm so happy, Amu! Do you like him back?" She nodded again; yes, she can't deny it anymore. Her mother calls for her father. "Honey! Ami! Come out to the living area, quick!" Soon, her whole family flocked inside the little room and wondering what is going on. _

"_Yes? Is something the matter?" her father asked. Her mother shook her head and smiled._

"_No, not at all! Amu, she has a boyfriend now!" Her father almost had a heart attack. Yes, I remember him being that worried about her. _

"_WHAT?!" Her father sat down next to her and started screaming. "Is he nice? Does he treat you well? Please say he is handsome!" Amu started to laugh and looked at me. _

"_Well, actually, you can meet him if you want," the whole family nodded, "you have to sit down, though," they all sat down. I knew her parents, especially her mother, was not fond of me, and Ami—well, she thought I was cute. "Come in!" She looked at me and nodded; it was safe? I shrugged and took the first step into her home. All of their eyes were on me and I knew her mother was the most surprised (maybe her father, too). "Everyone, this is Ikuto Tsukiyomi." Amu stood from the couch and I smiled._

_Her mother's eyes were widened, her father's eyes were glued to me, and Ami was smiling. "Kitty!" Ah, she remembered. I made my way around the couch and tried to sit down, but her mother pointed to a chair across from Amu. Aw, I have to be away from her even more! Her father first spoke. "I-Ikuto, was it?" I nodded. "How old are you, exactly?"_

"_21," I replied. Boy, his whole body almost died right there. "I'll be 22 in the next few months," I look at Amu and smirk. She didn't even know when my birthday was; I never tell anyone. Her mother cleared her throat and I looked over at her. She didn't like me, I know._

"_Why are you back?" She mumbled to me. Back…? Did she know I left?_

"_I came back for her," I looked back at Amu and smiled. She blushed and looked at her mother. _

"_Mama, do you like him?" She didn't reply. Instead, she rose from the chair next to me and walked back to the kitchen. That was the last I heard from her that day. I looked at her father and Amu said: "Papa?" He was still recovering from my age. _

"_I'll treat her well," I whispered; Amu looked at me and smiled._

"_You already have! I don't know why they're acting like this, so I'm sorry," she bowed her head in apology and I reached out for her. She did the same and our hands connected. Ami ran over to me and looked me right in the eyes before shouting:_

"_I like you!" I smiled and rubbed her head with my free hand. I knew she liked me. Before I knew it, her father left the room and it was only the three of us, sitting on the couch just watching the news talk about some silly argument the politicians were having._

I blink and realize that Ami is looking at me in a strange way. She must've been talking to me before I dazed off. "Are you okay?" I nod and look back at Amu. Funny, it was only two years ago, too. I rest my hand on top of hers and let my head fall onto her legs. I am tired of waiting for her to wake up, but I know she will. I just need to give it time.

Soon after, her parents came in. "Ami, could you wait outside?" She refused.

"No! I want to stay here with Amu and Ikuto!" Her mother sighed and sat down in the farthest chair away from me; her father sat next to me. I didn't look over at her mother when she sat down; my eyes were fixated on Amu.

"I hear you want to keep her alive?" I nod. Again, she isn't brain dead. "And I suppose you figure that we'll pay for the expenses for the hospital if she were to stay alive?" Her voice is cracking up; she's crying now. I shake my head and look over at her.

"No, I'd pay for her to be kept alive. My father has enough riches…" she cut me off.

"Your father abandoned you!" Where did that come from? Amu must've mentioned it to her once or something, because I never said a thing.

"He has enough money to keep her in here for years," I finish. That probably wasn't the greatest answer to have, because now she's getting frustrated.

"Are you saying we are poor?" I am not insinuating it, no. I let her continue. "Why are you so stubborn, Ikuto? Haven't you done enough to her?" I look down at Amu once more and frown. I am not to blame for this. I know this.

"What have I done that has hurt her?" She rises from her chair and points straight at Amu.

"Do you not see this, Ikuto?" I look over at Ami and see her afraid of this argument. I'll make sure it doesn't get violent. "It should be you! You have humiliated her in public, you have caused distress on her childhood while growing up, and you leave her behind one day so she can move on! How damaged is her heart from you, Ikuto?" I don't think it's been damaged, but maybe it has. If that's true, I'm sorry Amu.

"I have not hurt her enough to cause her pain, I know this," I look back at Amu and smile, "because every time I'm around, she always seems to smile," I look at her mother and rise from my chair now, "you are stubborn enough to hate me so that I may never see happiness in my life! I have found it and it is with Amu when this comes about! She has never spoken good things about you, nor has she ever been truly happy with you! Stop blaming me for her smiles!" Then, I feel it. She slaps me. Ami cries and runs around the bed to me.

"Stop! Please stop!" Her mother stands there with a horrified look on her face and mumbles an apology. I know she doesn't mean this, but what's done is done. I understand her anger towards me, but her claims were a bit ridiculous! Her father stands up and walks over to his wife. She shakes her head and walks away from the bed to the door.

"You have four days," she says to me, "to say your goodbyes. After that, if Amu does not improve or wake up," she looks at me with her saddened eyes, "then she'll move on into the next life." What? Her parents leave the room and Ami starts to cry. I know this hurts her just as much as it hurts me and I look down at Amu. No, she can't die.

I sit on the side of the bed—Ami follows suit and holds onto my left arm while crying—and I look down at Amu. No, she must live, right? Ami and I sit there, looking at the girl on the bed while the monitors continuously maintain a steady beat and I start to cry. I can't see her not in my life. And I know I cannot say my goodbyes yet.

There's got to be a better way for you, Amu. It's only for you, and I know he'll understand. Trust me, just hang on.

**AND THERE IT IS! Very anti-climatic, I think. My mind played tricks on me and didn't make it awesome like I wanted it to be .__.**

**BUT! Wait for the 15th chapter. Oh man, that's when I get to have fun with this story! 8) Remember when I said this story will be 30-35 chapters long? Oh, it will be. I'm going to guess that the 35th chapter..she DIES! AHAHAHAHA! (...Read the genre, thanks)**

**Time to reply to reviews! 8) I only had to reply to about four since I last replied to reviews! Well, that's not good 8/**

**REVIEWS!**

**Himeka Tsukiyomi: I'm pretty sure you're my number one reader! Haha. Thank you for the lovely reviews (and yes, I saw my mistakes last chapter. I curse myself for not proofreading!).**

**: Always have to blame Saaya! Haha. She's ultimately the one that ran over Amu! Mwahaha! (No, she didn't.) Thank you for the lovely review! 8)**

**TheQueenofMe: 8O I didn't know I had such an effect on anyone when I write! Thank you so much for the review! I promise to update as soon as I can!**

**AnimeGirl: AMEN! I think that's what's drawing people away from this story: Ikuto isn't the pervert on a regular basis. Oh well! I like my story! It's pretty unique, right? Thank you for the review! 8)**

**What will happen next? WHO KNOWS!  
When will I update next? WHO KNOWS!  
When will I reply to reviews next? The 15th chapter xD**

**Look out for these upcoming chapters. WARNING: next chapter = Amu. Because this gives time for Ikuto to..well, you figure it out.**

**Review my lovely readers! I reply to EVERY review that comes my way, as well as messages! SO DO IT! (I'm not forcing you 8D)**

**Until next time!**

**TLS**


	11. Day Eleven

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

**NOTE: This is in Amu's view. And there's probably OOC in this. BE WARNED!**

_Day Eleven_

As of right now, these Guardians are not generally on the side I would like them to be on. Instead, they're actually looking at with confusion, anger, frustration, happiness, and wonder, all in that order. Let's back up a few minutes ago, when I entered the room.

I turned to Ikuto, who was following me like a lost kitten, and I told him: "Stay out here! I don't want them to come to conclusions right away!" He nodded.

"Make it a surprise for all of us," he whispered. God, that alluring voice once more had me buckling at the knees. I nodded, with a slight blush on my face, and he kissed the top of my head. "It'll be fine. I'm sure they won't think any different of you," If only you knew, Ikuto. Soon after I entered the conservatory.

There they all were, sitting around the long table the school kindly let us use for this time of the day. All of them turned to me and started to be irrational as to why I was late. Let's hope they don't say I was sleeping! "Hinamori, were you held back by a teacher?" said Tadase. I'm not a terrible student!

"No, she was saved from Nikaidou from me earlier," Rima turned around and looked at me, "She was sleeping." Wha—what?! How did she know?

Nagihiko replied: "Woah! How do you know?" Rima blushed and shrugged. She's telepathic or creepy, I swear. I make my way to the table and see Yaya smiling.

"It's okay, Amu! You're here, and that's all that matters!" I nodded and sat in my chair. God, this is going to be a lot more difficult than what I thought it would be. I looked over at the door and saw Ikuto poking his head in; what the..?! Now he's just pushing me to tell the news!

I cleared my throat: come on, Amu! You can do it! "Y-Yeah, sorry about being late! I took a nap outside and didn't realize I slept for that long," I laughed nervously and saw everyone smile. Well, that was easy.

"We accept your apology, Amu!" Yaya yelled and I smiled. She always seems to like me, one way or another. Tadase straightened some papers on the table and was about to talk about the agenda today, but I stopped him.

"B-But!" Everyone turned their eyes to me. Oh my goodness, if I wasn't nervous before, multiply my nerves going haywire by ten! "I-I have to tell you guys something, okay?" Tadase rested the papers on the table and smiled.

"Go ahead, Hinamori. If it's that important to you, this," referring to the papers, "can surely wait." Oh, he's always so nice to me! Kukai, who still comes to these meetings even though he isn't in the group anymore, smiled towards me.

"Yea, Amu! Lay it on us!" I smiled and felt at ease once all of them allowed me to speak. Rima turned her head towards the door; I think she knew. I stood up from my chair—I had to be dramatic!—and spoke with confidence.

"Everyone! I have a boyfriend!" I yelled it at everyone and their faces lit up. I don't know if they were happy for me or if they were shocked, but everyone wanted to know who and how I actually had someone to love me. "And I would like you guys to meet him, if that is okay with you," I whispered this. I kind of didn't want to show them Ikuto, since of the past we all had with him, but they all nodded.

"Yes, Hinamori! We'd love to meet him!" Tadase _really_ wanted to meet him, and he was so happy for me! I happily nodded and turned to the door.

"You can come in now!" Everyone turned towards the door—Rima was already turned—and watched as the door opened. I smiled when Ikuto stepped from outside and closed the door behind him. He looked at me, smiled, then looked at the rest of the group. At first, they didn't recognize him, but then he spoke.

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Kiddy King?"

That's where we are right now. Nagahiko is confused, Tadase is angry, Kukai is frustrated (why?), Yaya is happy—she always is—and Rima is looking at me in wonder. Don't worry, Rima, I wonder sometimes, too. I look back at the group and smile. "Y-Yes, as you are probably thinking, Ikuto and I…uh…" I tried to come up with the best answer to their confusion but came up with nothing.

"We're a couple," Ikuto replied. Yes! Yes, that's it. I nod and smile.

"Yes! So, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to have some kind of a blessing from you guys!" Yaya already wanted to give her blessing.

"Of course, Amu!" She hugs me and I smile with so much happiness from her. She always makes me feel so great! I look down at Rima, who is nodding. Now it's just wooing the guys in the group. Nagahiko was first.

He looks over at Ikuto, then back at me, then back at Ikuto. He shrugs. "If you are happy, Amu," he smiles, "then I am happy for you." I nod and thank him. He's always too nice to me, too. I look at Kukai. He says nothing, so I turn to Tadase. He's standing at the table and staring down Ikuto.

"Why are you here, you dirty cat?" Ikuto leans away from the door and starts to walk towards the group. Tadase looks at him with pure anger and I look at Ikuto. He stops on one of the steps near the flower garden and smirks. Oh no, a fight?

"I'm here for Amu and only Amu, Tadase. Is this a problem?" Tadase slams his hands on the table; I jump. I look back at Tadase and see him almost about to break down! I walk over to Ikuto and look up at him. Why is this happening? I sigh. He rubs my head in reassurance and looks up at Tadase. "Would you like to address this problem, Tadase?"

Tadase starts to yell. "You should not be in her presence! After what you have done to her these past four years, gone?" Kukai nods; he is on his side, "We have been here for her when she broke down from a text you sent her, reassured her that everything was going to be okay, and then you come back, loving her?" He shakes his head. I have tears in my eyes. "Hinamori, I am sorry, but as much as I want to give you a blessing, I simply cannot find it in my heart," Kukai stands up next.

"Ikuto, you know we've been good friends since I met your sister, right?" he nods, "I don't think we can be this way anymore. I mean, you come back out of the blue, trying to make everything right by loving Amu? It's very random and odd, so how do we know you won't do it again?" He's right: how _will_ I know he won't do it again? I look up at him and he frowns.

"I'd never leave her again. It was a poor choice on my part, and I'd appreciate it if you would forgive me for what I have done to her," Kukai sighs. He clearly doesn't. Kukai then looks at me; I know I probably look like I'm about to cry.

"I'm sorry, Amu, but maybe one day I'll finally give you my blessing. Just not right now." Tadase shakes his head and walks around the table. I tense up against Ikuto as he brushes past me: I can see some kind of pain in him, knowing that I may have broken his heart. Kukai then follows and stops right next to me. He rubs my head and smiles. "I don't hate you," he whispers. I know he doesn't; it's a lot to handle. He walks off and I hear the door slam and echo in the conservatory.

Ikuto wraps his arms around me and whispers: "Don't cry." But I can't help it; it hurts to know that a few of your friends cannot accept your love for someone else. I wrap my arms around him and cry into his shirt; he'll probably tease me about it later. The other come around and reassure me that it'll be okay. One can only hope, right?

**BOOM.**

**Uh, so, what can I say? I don't really..._like_ Tadase, only because I TOTALLY CALLED who he was (manga, people!). That, and I don't like the pairing of Amu and Tadase. They don't look good together.**

**But! I will not bash him! A lot of people that read my fanfics think I bash characters (like my other story, Blossoms into Love, which is not Shugo Chara). NOT TRUE. I try to base it off the character's personality, and if they are like that, so be it. But I don't intentionally bash characters, no. With that said...**

**OBVIOUSLY Kukai and Ikuto make up. COME ON. If you don't think that..I mean, look at the previous chapters! Haha.**

**Next chapter? It's all about Ikuto and his struggle to find his heart. Or to figure out a way to keep Amu alive. Whichever comes first, right?**

**Thank you for the reviews! 8) And the alerts! I don't forget about you guys on the side! Haha. Keep going with that! I'll update sooner than later and I'll love you forever! And my love is priceless.**

**So review! And you'll get..a piece of my heart 8)**

**Until next time! **

**TLS**


	12. Day Twelve

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

_Day Twelve_

I landed in Paris today. I took the first flight after I met with Amu's mother and figured my father would be in this city. I dial his number when I land at the airport and listen to the tone of the phone. Come on, answer. "This is Tsukiyomi Aruto." Always with the French language. I step outside and see the people coming and going.

"Father," I reply. I hear some crash in the background.

"Ikuto!? W-What do you need?!" He yells. He was always dramatic.

"I need you to come get me at the airport. I'm at Terminal C." More crashing occurred in the background, followed by a door slamming. "What are you…?"

"Never mind that, Ikuto! I am on my way!" He didn't live too far away, so I will wait for maybe twenty minutes. I hang up on him and lean against a pillar. I hope he understands where I am coming from and will hopefully agree to pay for her expenses. I can only hope. That's all I have left, after all.

* * * *

We're in a café right now. There is a private room away from everyone else, and this seems to be where he always goes. Even the chefs here know him by name: Master Aruto. Weird. He is sitting across from me, having some kind of pastry while I just have a cup of tea in front of me. "How are things, Ikuto? You have grown since the last time I saw you! Did that girl say yes to you? Her name, Amu was it? I'm sure she did. After all, who could turn you down?" One question at a time, Dad.

"That's why I'm here," I see him take a bite of the pastry and open one eye (he is in Heaven with that pastry, apparently). "Things are not going the way I wanted, that's for sure," I look down at the tea and see my reflection: have I always looked this sad? He puts his food down and looks at me seriously. He is usually never serious unless he is playing his violin.

"What is wrong?" I sigh. I have to say this whole story again? "Did something happen?" I nod. He leans back in his chair and wants to listen. At least someone does.

"First things first, she did say yes," I smile. He leans forward.

"Are you serious!?" Always the one to talk like a kid, Dad. He rubs the top of my head and I feel him ruffle my hair around. "That's my boy!" He's grinning like an idiot and I continue.

"Where were you last time? I would've told you nearly two years ago about us, but you moved." He rubs his head and starts to laugh.

"Well, I went to Spain. I didn't think you would come back if she said yes, so I just went back on tour." I shake my head. Always thinking about the tour, not about his son's love life or anything. He smiles. "Go on! Tell me more about this!" Might as well.

"And for two years, it's been great. We've been doing so much as a couple now, even though a lot of people don't like us," My father leans back in his chair.

"That's how it was with your mother and I. When we first got together, it was hard with some of her family members to like someone like me: a child. Oh well, what can you do?" He smiles and I nod. He's got a point.

I lean back in my chair and sigh. This is it. "But, almost two weeks ago, I was going to meet her at this café in Japan. I forget the name. I should've been walking with her, or at least picked her up, but she wanted to go herself. We were going to meet up, but it didn't happen." He has a serious face on again, almost sullen, "She called me and kept repeating my name, over and over again. There was police everywhere, an ambulance in front of the café.

"There was this huge crowd too. So I tried to find her in the crowd, but she wasn't there. I knew she was somewhere near, because I could hear the same noises she could. But she was on the ground, being attended to by the police. Dad," I look up with tears in my eyes. He frowns. "there was so much blood and she lost pulses here and there. Now she's in a hospital, in a coma." Aruto reaches out and grabs my hand. God, this is hard.

"Are you okay?" I nod. Of course not, but I have to lie for him. "So you are here because you want me to pay for her expenses." Wow, he's good. I look at him and nod. But, I can't lie to him. How is this possible? He squeezes my hand and smiles. "What about her parents?" I shake my head.

"They won't pay for it. They want to take her off life support, but the doctors say there is brain activity still going on. It would be murder!" He nods.

"Hospital expenses are pricy, but I can help you. How long are you willing to keep her on life support?"

"As long as I possibly can," I quickly reply. I know, it's the most obvious answer, but I can't help but keep her alive forever.

"You and I both know I don't have that much money. I can only keep her alive for maybe fifteen days without bankrupting myself. Are you willing to keep her alive for that long?" I nod. It's something, and perhaps I can get more money from someone to keep her alive for a little more. He smiles. "It'll be okay, Ikuto. She won't die nor will she be in that coma forever. Keep your head up, Ikuto." Easier said than done.

"Thank you," I keep repeating this.

"No need, Ikuto. I'd do anything for you," I look up at him and smile. He would, wouldn't he? He did, after all, keep me in his home for those days in Paris last time. He leans away from me and wipes his eyes; was he crying? He takes another bite of his pastry and smiles. "So how long are you here for!?"I smile; always the one to talk me into staying just another day.

**I updated. Who knew. **

**Who guessed he was going to be going to his father? I didn't. I was going to add another scene, but that's a good way to end a chapter, isn't it?**

**It might be a while before I update again. This goes for Blossoms, too (although, I hope to update that on Tuesday). I am in a bit of a crisis right now and while I'd rather not go into any details, it involves my family. Be that as it may, I need some time to myself, so give me a break (or a vacation?) for another week before I update. I just need to get over this before I write again because it's all I can think about. And I don't want to disappoint in my writing while I am in this slump.**

**Thank you.**

**Review, and perhaps that'll bring my spirits up to write. After all, one can only heal after taking a fall.**

**Until next time.**

**TLS**


	13. Day Thirteen

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

_Day Thirteen_

My phone starts to ring in my pocket. It's the first noise I've heard in a while since I arrived yesterday. It has been pretty quiet with only my father and I around. I look at the caller ID: Utau. Damn it. If she knew I was in Paris with our father, she would flip. Of course, I have to answer it. Otherwise, she'll continue to call until I answer it.

"Hello?" I hear a beeping noise in the background. She is at the hospital? "Is something wrong, Utau?" I hear nothing but that beeping noise. This doesn't seem like good news.

"Ikuto, is she okay?" How should I know? "because there are a ton of nurses in here about to take out her tubes!" They must be changing them for the day.

"How many are there?" She starts to panic. Oh no, she's going to go into a panic attack.

"Like, nine!" Nine? There's usually three to four in there, at most.

"Are you exaggerating?" Kukai takes the phone from her and starts to talk to me. Looks like I might have to end this trip a little early.

"Dude, Ikuto? There's about eight or nine nurses in here and they aren't telling us anything! What's going on?" I have no idea! I start to panic myself and I hear Utau back on the line. "Ikuto! Come to the hospital right now!"

"I can't, Utau. I'm too far away to get there."

"Well hurry up!"

"Utau, I can't get there! I'm in Paris!" There was a bit of a silence on the phone and I could hear the guardians in the background. Were they all there without me? Then, Utau starts to yell.

"Why are you in Paris at this time, Ikuto!?" I sigh. My father walks into the room and I look at him. Should I tell her the truth? After all, what harm can she do to me right now? I'm thousands of miles away from her!

"I'm with dad," I whisper to her. My father looks at me with a confused look, then figures it is Utau. I put her on speakerphone and hear her erupt with anger.

"What?! At a time like this, Ikuto? Have you lost your mind?! She could die at any minute!" I sigh and hear her yell at me more. "Just come to the hospital, Ikuto! You have to come!" I reply back.

"Utau, I'm not there right now. You have to hang up if you're in a hospital." It is not going to stop her. She does not want to hang up.

"Well why do you get to see Dad all the time!?" I sigh; I know she's mad at me and I give the phone to my father. He has no idea what to say or do. She is still yelling. "And the guardians are here with their final goodbyes! Tell them she is not dying!" My father sighs and smiles.

"She is not dying." There is a silence on the other end and I can hear her in the background.

"See?! I told you guys she wasn't dying!" She apparently returns to the phone. "Dad? How come I never get to see you!?" She's pissed. I lean in the recliner and look down at the newspaper. My father starts to laugh and hands back the phone.

"I…have no idea what to say to her." And he runs off! I put the phone back against my ear and hear her start to cry. Damn.

"Don't cry, Utau," but she continues. Even Kukai is trying to calm her down. "I didn't mean to come back here. I just had to ask him…"

"Ask him what?! To come back? Ikuto, I've been asking that for years! He won't listen!" The phone went dead. I think a nurse finally got to her and told her to hang up the phone. Thank god. I lean back in the chair and continue to read the newspaper. Soon enough, the phone starts to ring again. If it's Utau again, I swear to God…

I glance down at the caller ID again. Amu. Amu? I open my phone and put it to my ear. "H-Hello?" When do I ever stutter? I hear a little kid on the other line.

"Ikuto! Ikuto, it's Ami!" I should've known. I should know better not to bring my hopes up like that. I place the newspaper on one of the armrests and smile. It'll be nice to hear someone else's voice for once and to hear some random events going on in her life. That'll cheer—"Ikuto, my mother wants to cut off Amu's life support!"—me up. I spoke too soon.

I lean forward on the chair. "Why?" I can tell Ami is crying. What time is it here? Two in the morning. It would be about ten in the morning there. No wonder everyone is at the hospital then; that's the busiest time to go to the hospital!

"I don't know, but they just got off the phone with doctors!" This is not good. I rise from my chair and make my way through the living quarters to the kitchen: my father's favorite place besides home. I see him making some kind of a pastry—his favorite—and continue to listen to Ami. "Please, you have to get to the hospital before they kill her!" My heart hurts too much to say no.

"I'm on my way," and I hang up the phone. I look at my father, who has a bit of a worry written on his face, and shake my head. "I cannot stay here any longer. I am needed in Japan." I move past him in the kitchen. Ah, before I do, "Are you coming?" He looks back at me and shakes his head.

"I'm needed here, Ikuto. You know this," and he goes back to making his pastry.

"You are needed at home, too. You can meet Amu while you are there. It does not need to be permanent; just enough time for Utau to stop riding my back about you."

"She will see me in due time, Ikuto. I cannot go back to Japan. Not anymore," he finishes his pastry and picks it up from the plate. "Ah, fantastic!" I frown and stand in the doorway.

"Utau needs you. I need you. Mom needs you." He sighs. I know he can't say no to that. Point Ikuto. He looks back at me with a pastry in his mouth and smiles.

"When are we leaving?" I smile. Looks like I'm the only one to convince my father to come home after all.

**Short chapter! Alright.**

**Fair warning: next chapter will be in Amu's view. This'll be the last of her views for a while. Well, at least of a full chapter. She'll come around from time to time for half a chapter. DUN DUN DUN.**

**I wonder how the meeting with Aruto and Amu will be like. I bet it'll be something like this:**

**"Why, this is the lovely Amu! How do you do?"**

**". . ."**

**"Dad, she can't talk to you. She's in a coma."**

**I am such a silly goose.**

**Uhm, so, next chapter is Amu. THEN, the 15th chapter! I can't wait for that one. AND! Then it'll start getting FUN! 8) I promise!**

**On the 15th chapter, I'll be replying to all reviews again! If you want to review (YOU SHOULD!) please do! I don't know why this story is not very popular (I'm not a very popular author, ha-ha!) but let's see if we can make it popular! But I want to thank all of my reviewers, the people that put me on their favorite stories (FIVE PEOPLE! 8D) and people that have it as an alert (EIGHT!). Also, thank you to all of you that have put me on their Author Alert deals! That's really ... great!**

**So review! And you'll be immortalized in a statue ... that'll be built in my mind 8)**

**Until next time!**

**TLS**


	14. Day Fourteen

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

**SIDE NOTE: This is in Amu's point of view. **

**SIDE-SIDE NOTE: This'll be the last of her FULL chapter p.o.v's! She'll appear in half-chapters, but, otherwise, this is it!**

_Day Fourteen_

I haven't been to a Guardian meeting in a while. I know they won't like me attending the meetings after the mishap with Ikuto, Tadase, and Kukai. So I've been catching up on my studies (who knew!) and helping my family out with chores around the house.

Not to mention, I've been sneaking out to meet with Ikuto.

My family doesn't know about us. I've tried to keep it the best secret around, too. Ikuto asked me: "How come you don't want your family to find out you have me as a boyfriend?" I don't have an answer to that. Maybe I'm afraid of what my family would think. But that'll change! I promised him that!

"Don't worry, Ikuto! You'll meet my family!" He smiled to me. I am always a sucker for his smiles!

"Maybe one day, you'll meet my whole family," and I nodded. I know his mother and sister are here, but his father is somewhere else in the world. I will meet them! I swear!

I'm home right now. Since I haven't been going to those meetings, I've been able to come home really early! And, from that, I can work on my homework! Unless Ikuto distracts me, which happens to be what is going on right now. He's sitting on my bed flipping through some magazine I picked up from a store down the block. He's also correcting my homework when I seem frustrated—when am I ever frustrated?!

"This should be a two, not a four", "Your English is terrible", "You spelt 'the' wrong", and so many more corrections are driving me crazy! Finally, I slam down my pencil and look up at him—who has a big smile on his face. "I am not asking for help!"

He shrugs. "I know, but you're too cute when you're having troubles," I sigh and turn back around to my homework. "At least you are trying, _Amu_," he rubs my head and I smile. Yes, that's an accomplishment. "But," he continues. But?! "I'm bored, and seeing you do homework puts me to sleep," I turn around and face him again.

Well, he is 21, and I would assume this stuff would bore him. I stand up from my chair and notice how much taller he is—I'm so small! "T-Then," I whisper. He arches an eyebrow. "what do you want to do?" He smirks and steps forward. Soon enough, I'm on my desk. What the..!? He places two hands on the desk around me and leans forward. Is he going to kiss me? Then, he says:

"I want to meet your parents." I smack his forehead and I blush tenfold. God damn him! He leans away and rubs his forehead—that didn't hurt!

"Why did you have to ask so intensely!?" He shrugs.

"See how much you would blush," he pinches my cheeks and I start to laugh. He smiles with me and rubs my cheek—I'm sure there's a red mark somewhere on there. "So when can I meet them?" I look down and think about it. When would…? Then it hit me.

"Tomorrow!" I jump up from the desk and accidentally kick Ikuto in the shin. He focuses his attention on his new injury and I hold in my laughter. "Oh, oops," he rubs his leg and looks up at me.

"Did you really have to hit me?" I shrug.

"I wanted to see how much it hurt," he chuckles and straightens again. He is just too tall to intimidate! "But, tomorrow! We can do this tomorrow! Both my parents are off tomorrow, and Ami gets home before me sometimes, so we can do it then!" I smile and he nods.

"Then tomorrow awaits, dear Amu." He kisses the top of my head. I blush; I'm still not used to his kisses. He walks over to my window and opens the sliding door—I should really lock that at night, too. I realize that he's leaving and rush to the window, but before I get there, he jumps from the patio. Damn him and his athletic tricks! I step onto the wooden planks and look down on the ground. He's smiling up to me.

"Tomorrow, Ikuto!" He waves and starts to walk down the street. Soon enough, I don't see him, but I keep looking outside. I somehow forgot about my homework after that, too.

* * * *

Somehow, this didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, because my family is gone and Ikuto is left on the couch with Ami and I. I stand from the couch and excuse myself; I need answers! When I enter the kitchen, my mother is standing in front of the sink. "Why him, Amu?" she whispers. "Why not someone else, like that nice blonde boy?" She's really holding something back.

I don't know why him. My heart was the one that chose him! (And, of course, I chose him, too) And I know why not Tadase: he was too self-centered! He gave me attention, but I couldn't do the same for him. It was too hard. "Because he's always been there," I whisper back. She turns around: why is she angry?

She looks down on the floor and sighs. "I cannot approve of this, Amu, you know that," I step into the kitchen more.

"Why!" I hope Ikuto can't hear this, or Ami for that matter, "Why can't you approve of this? You have for everything else!"She throws down a dish towel into the sink.

"Because he left you, Amu! How can you forgive a creature like that for abandoning you!?" But, he came back. "How do you know he won't leave again? He did it so easily before!" He told me he wasn't going to leave again. "No, Amu, I cannot approve of this because he has caused you nothing but pain. He does not love you," But…he does. She smiles and I am still standing there. "I wish I could say 'Okay, I approve', but…he's done too many things to you in the past."

She turns around to the window above the sink and sighs. "I'm sorry, Amu," she walks away from the sink towards me. Please, don't touch me. She rubs my face from probably some tears and smiles. "You understand, right?" I nod. I can't shake my head to her, but I know I'm lying. She hugs me and I stand there, just waiting for her to go away. She does, and I can hear her climbing the stairs. I hear my parents' door close and I feel someone grab me from behind.

It's Ikuto; I can tell these arms from a mile away. He holds on as I start to cry. "Amu?" He loosens his grip on me and I turn around. I know, I've been crying too much these past couple days, but I can't help it. No one…

"No one likes us together, Ikuto," I shake my head and wrap my arms around him—I'm holding on so tight I must be crushing some organs in there. But he wraps his arms around me and I cry into his chest.

"We're the modern-day Romeo and Juliet, Amu," I know he's smiling, trying to make me feel better. I smile as I continue to cry; I can't help that! In my mind, all I can hear myself repeating is: don't leave, don't leave, don't leave… And I think I slipped one out by accident, because he is leaning away from me and wiping some tears away.

"I'd never leave, Amu, you know that. It was a mistake before, and I won't make that mistake again," he leans back into the grasp he has on me and rubs my head in reassurance. I must hold him to this promise. I can't see him leaving again, anyway, so maybe I'm worrying about absolutely nothing. I whisper into his chest: "I love you" over and over again, and he kisses the top of my head.

"I love you too much to leave again, Amu. And if no one likes our relationship, so be it. As long as I'm here, we're going to continue to love each other, even when no one approves of our love," my heart skips a few beats and I hold on even tighter. This is the Ikuto I know.

And this is the Ikuto I love.

**Aw, such a sweet ending. I was going to have this chapter skip around a bunch of times, but I thought it was too confusing myself, so I erased that chapter and made this..."beauty." **

**NEXT CHAPTER! I'm excited. It's going to be FILLED with drama and hits and yelling and maybe some cursing? I don't know! Ha-ha. **

**The reason I didn't write the flashback from the previous chapter (when Ikuto meets her parents) is because you already know what happened. You don't need to read it again! So, now, you got Amu's point of view on the whole thing AFTER it went down! I'm so clever.**

**I'll be replying to any reviews next chapter! So, if you have questions for me, comments, critiques, ANYTHING, write it! I'm replying to all of them from chapter 10 to this chapter, so HURRY! I don't know when I'll update next, so BE WARNED!**

**With that said, you should totally review 8D I'd give you a cookie, but I don't know how to cook. Boo.**

**Until next time!**

**TLS**


	15. Day Fifteen

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

_Day Fifteen_

I'm waiting for Amu's parents to come through the door. Ami is right across from me, and my father is across the room looking out the window. He refuses to say hello to Amu until she wakes up, and he also refuses to see Utau, who continuously calls me because she wants to talk to him. I can hear them faintly talking about this whole thing, and while I do wonder why they want to let her go, a part of me understands.

I wouldn't want to see my child lying on a bed, hopelessly stuck in a dream while hooked up to so many machines. "Ikuto," I turn to my father. He's smiling towards me; I'm probably crying right now, but since I've done that too many times to count, I can't tell. "they'll respect you if you fight for her life," I don't know about this, considering her mother truly hates me, but it's a hopeful wish.

I hear the door open and my father focuses on the door. He smiles. "Ah! You must be the lovely parents of Amu!" he wanders away from the window and I turn to the door. Her mother is smiling. Smiling? Did my father really have this much magic on people?

"Ah, well, yes." She responds. What the hell? She looks over at me and notices a chair next to Ami. It's silent for the most part—except for the calming breaths Amu makes from the machine right next to my arm. I look down at Amu.

Why? After so many days, why haven't you waken up? "Ikuto," I hear her father call my name, but I can't take my eyes away from her. Ami leans towards another machine and I can see her look at my face. They probably hate me for holding onto her hand like this, but it's not right. She can't go.

"Ikuto," I hear her mother now. I reluctantly turn my head towards her and she's just staring at me. No smile, no happiness towards me. "Why are you wanting to keep her alive?" There are too many reasons. She deserves to live again. I need to see her smile. I want to be with her. She can't die. She will open her eyes soon. I know it.

"Isn't it obvious?" I smile. "I love her," I whisper and look back towards Amu. I hope for some kind of twitch from Amu—I sadly get nothing—and want her to wake up right now. Her heartbeat stays a steady rhythm.

"And love simply makes you do wondrous things," my father replies. I know her mother must be looking at my father, but I can't take my eyes off of her. I want to be the first to know if her eyes are going to open, no one else.

Her mother clears her throat and I look away. It's just for a brief moment, but I'll be back, Amu. "Yes, well," she looks at me with this stern look. I'm sure there's some hatred under that small smile, but I cannot tell. "as much as I hate you being around my daughter, and despite our past confrontations, Ikuto," scratch that. She does still hate me and that's malice in her eyes. "I cannot let go of her, either." D-Does that mean…?

Her father cut in. "We all cannot let go of her. We are here for this fight, for as long as we can hold out." Her mom nods.

"Yes, and the only reason we were going to let her go was because of the money problems. We are in no financial status to loan. So, please, Ikuto," she puts her hands together and closes her eyes, "please help us, for Amu's sake," if it's for Amu, I'd do anything.

But, why is she being so nice to me? "We thought about it," her dad cut in. Did he just read my mind?! "and while we don't want to see Amu stuck in a bed, maybe in pain, we couldn't picture ourselves putting her in the ground. That, and we wanted to see how you would react when Ami called you," It was a set-up? I chuckle and look at her parents. Well, at least one is smiling.

I look down to Ami, who is grinning like Amu, and she starts to talk. "So it's settled! Amu gets to live and Ikuto will help!" I nod and smile back at her. I see her mom stand up from her chair and bow. I know she wants to say thank you, but then again, she hates me. My father then walks over to her mother and places a hand on her shoulder.

"No need," he whispers. She nods and begins to walk out of the room. I do hope we can clear the air, her and I, but right now, Amu is the most important thing I need to worry about. Her father smiles to me.

"Thank you again, both of you," and takes Ami by her hand. She smiles and waves to me. I wave back and watch them disappear. My father, who is grinning like an idiot, jumps up and down.

"I don't believe it, Ikuto! You get to help Amu!" He wraps his arms around me and holds me very, very tight. Always a kid at heart. It won't be for a long time that I will be able to help Amu in her battle, but I am willing to bet that she's going to be fighting with me, every step of the way.

He takes his phone out. "This calls for a celebration! I will call your mother and sister!" And away he went out the door. At first he didn't want to talk to Utau… I shake my head and turn to Amu. I let my hand rest on top of hers and I smile once more.

"Did you hear, Amu?" I whisper to her. "You get to live. And, not only that," I lean in towards her ear, "I get to help," maybe that'll spark something in her (perverted cosplay-cat boy, perhaps). I kiss the top of her head and slowly begin to walk away.

Tomorrow is going to be a brand new day, with a brand new attitude. Just you wait, Amu.

Just you wait.

**I told you I'd update sooner or later (no I didn't). **

**So, uh, one of the reviewers TOTALLY called something I was going to do. GAH. Oh well. Maybe this'll be a surprise to most of you, who knows..**

**Who else doesn't like this chapter? I totally rushed the hospital scene, because I could've dragged it on for another 2000 words. LITERALLY. I have another scene from this, but I deleted it. Why? I'm just that gangster.**

**Uh, I don't think I have that much to talk about. Aruto, Utau, and Ikuto will have a chapter one day, Amu will do something SO DRASTIC IT'S CRAZY, and somewhere between all of this, Ikuto will have ice cream. Hm.**

**Let's reply to reviews, shall we!?**

**Chapter 10 Reviews**

**Himeka Tsukiyomi - Oh, totally are! You need one of those foam fingers that has "#1!" written on it 8)**

**Chapter 11 Reviews**

**Himeka Tsukiyomi - 8) I try to update only for you~ Ha-ha.  
xSkulls-n-Bonesx - Wow, it was only the first date! Already with the love..must be the cologne ;) Ha-ha! Why, thank you so much! I'm sure there's some grammar issues somewhere, but thank you so much! When I first saw this review, I couldn't help but smile! I was feeling so discouraged about this story (what with little popularity it gets aside from ALL OF THE HIGH SCHOOL stories on here) but when I saw this, it made me write! Thank you!  
****drega - Ha-ha, well, if you want it so badly, I guess I can package a piece of my heart to you... 8) Thank you for the review! I love my story, too~**

******Chapter 12 Reviews**

******Himeka Tsukiyomi - 8D Why thank you! I like that chapter, too~**

******Chapter 13 Reviews**

**Himeka Tsukiyomi - Back to Japan, awayyyy~ Ha-ha. I don't think Ikuto will be leaving again, but we never know! 8)  
- Amen, indeed 8) I'll update as soon as I can again! Ha-ha  
****Next Story? - I'll assume that's not your username but a suggestion deal! Ha-ha, totally fine! Hm, I haven't even thought about my next story yet..I could definitely do an amnesia story! I know--hearing about Amu being stuck in a bed all the time isn't very fun. I promise to make the story more fun! I PROMISE!! That being said, thank you for the lovely review/suggestion! I'm glad to know someone wants me to make another story! Ha-ha. And thank you for saying I'm a good storyteller! I do my best to not be brainless while writing a story.  
Toushirou-chan - Alright, a long review! I love replying to these! Ha-ha. First off, thank you for saying this is a good story 8) And actually liking my writing style! Not a lot of people do (I detail too much and describe things way too much to the point where I have 3000+ worded chapters). Oh my gosh, when DON'T you want to hug Ikuto? Did you read that one chapter of the manga when Amu was "hidden" and Yoru returned to him? That "Amu?" part made me want to just hug him and push Amu out into the streets! AHH!  
Agreed about Tadase probably not reacting like that. However, if I may say, I wanted to see what kind of reaction people would get if he was like that. You would NEVER suspect something like that from Tadase (does he still love her? Ha-ha, I know I don't love the pairing, that's for sure!).  
********Ha-ha! Oh my, your rant about the parents! I almost regret having them be that way! Ha-ha. I think they should apologize too! (And Tadase! What a big jerk!) But who knows. They may never like Ikuto, EVER! (MWAHAHA!)  
****************I _love_ writing their dreams. I try to be as romantic as possible and to incorporate something for both of them. It's like a little side-story, perhaps! 8) And don't worry--I believe in dreams being connected somehow, like if I have a conversation with a friend of mine in a dream, I'll think they're dreaming the same thing. That's weird 8P  
8D Thank you for reviewing and loving the story! **

******************************Chapter 14 Reviews**

**Winter Knight - I knew someone would ask this! Ha-ha. The reason I made Amu's mother into a bitch (or a jerk, whatever) is because you don't _expect_ that from her. All I saw in the anime and manga was her always smiling, carrying on, having a grand old time. But, with something like this and having a tragedy in her life, I wanted to see how emotional I could get her and see how people would react to that. Probbbbably not a good move on my part, but whatever 8)  
Thank you for liking the story! 8) And thank you for the review!!!  
Himeka Tsukiyomi - 8D It was a good chapter, wasn't it?  
Toushirou-chan - Well, I wasn't expecting you here again! It's been so long since we last met~  
I'm trying to make her mother more...human? Ha-ha. I think I made her such an alien in the beginning, but of course, I had to write the mother into the story. I think without her side, there would be no known reason why she hated Ikuto or anything--it'd just be blind hate. And that's stupid.  
****I love writing the lovey-dovey moments! Ahhh, I wish they had more of those in the manga/anime! I'm trying to compensate for that, I guess! Ha-ha. I'll make sure to have a little more moments like those in the story, just to please you and the other readers 8)  
I hope I updated fast enough! Thank you again! 8)**

******WITH THAT SAID... Review! It'll be until the 20th chapter when I reply again, so if you want something said, SAY IT! I never ignore a review! NEVER!**

******Review and I'll love you forever! AND I'll update faster! I know you guys want another chapter!**

******Until next time!**

******TLS **


	16. Day Sixteen

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

_Day Sixteen_

It has gotten a bit better entering her room now. Most of her injuries are healing—some of the bruises are still there, along with small cuts and her broken bones—and she looks a lot better than that first night. I try not to think about that night, that horrible, horrible night, because I know I'll break down. I just have to keep my head up—she's the only reason why.

I have a journal for these upcoming days now. I think if I show this to Amu when she wakes up, she'll laugh. Just imagine, me sitting here doing something crazy to try and wake her up, and when she does, she'll see this journal on her bed. She'll flip through it and she'll laugh. Ah, yes, a heavenly thought.

I open this little journal and read the first page. _Day one_, this is at the top of the page. And, in the middle, it reads _perversions. _I can only take this one step at a time. And when she hears the perverted comments I have for her, she'll wake up and tell me I'm a pervert. Yes, that'll work.

I enter her room—someone else has been here, because there are a few flowers by her bed—and see her still in her state, still sleeping. "My dear Amu," I shut the door behind me and start to walk through her room. The doctors have been telling me that they'll be changing her room sooner or later. Maybe she'll finally have some kind of color on her walls instead of this dull white.

I walk to the side of her bed and stare down at her. I feel so helpless, knowing that this is all I can do to help: just being with her. I'll do my best, though. I sit on her bed and smile. Somehow, brushing her hair away from her face calms me and makes her just stunning. Ah, Ikuto, this is not a part of your plan! Stay focused.

I smirk. "Amu, you know, I can do whatever I want to you. You cannot stop me," I whisper and watch her. Nothing. Damn it. I continue with whatever antics I possibly can use on her.

"When you wake up, let's go to the nearest hotel and be together at last." Even I think that is creepy. I shake it away and apologize to her right away. Maybe I'm a little rough at these perverted comments and should stop. Then I look at her and want to see her blush at the little comments I make. Yes, let's continue, Amu.

I run a few fingers up her arm—the one that's not in a cast. "My little strawberry, you are too delicate to eat. I must have you in portions." I can see her blushing at that one, knowing that she'd hit me over the head with the closest object. She'd shiver at those touches, too!

I lean forward close to her face. Maybe my breath can work magic. I am a few inches away from her lips and I'm staring at them. "Would you like a dose of medicine? I know just the cure for you." I look up at her eyes, but see absolutely no movement. Even when I'm intense about my love, it doesn't seem to work!

I don't want to, but I lean more forward and close the gaps between us. "Humor me, _Amu." _Again, I look up at her eyes and see nothing. Geez, I can't take much more. I sigh and lay down on the bed with her. I wrap an arm around her and look down at her petite little body.

I whisper into her hair: "I'll join you on this bed tonight, _Amu._ There's enough room for two." I look down at her face and see nothing. Her hands do nothing and her feet do not move. This is kind of getting ridiculous, Amu.

I let my other hand grab her free hand and I start to rub the skin between her pointer finger and her thumb. That's one of her most sensitive spots. "I aim only to please you, _Amu._" I think I am too hopeful for this first day, because she's not waking up. Fourteen more days of this? This might be a bit hard.

I kiss the top of her head and whisper: "I cannot hear your lovely voice. Be my melody, _Amu._" Ah, maybe something like this could spark her mind to wake up! I look at her eyes and see nothing happen. Well, I can't do this anymore. I even exhausted myself! I take the journal and write _failure_ below _perversions_. I won't give up, Amu. Just you wait until tomorrow.

I lean my head on hers and close my eyes. This may sound weird, but I might sleep with her. It'll only be for a short nap, Amu.

I promise to wake up when you wake up.

* * * *

Today, we're at the park. He wants to have a relaxing day with him and I, because apparently, he's having a stressful time while I'm working my butt off at school! I think it's just another scheme to try to tease me. "I hope you are not thinking about me, _Amu_," Scratch that. Today _is_ a day where he wants to tease me! And here I thought we were just going to lay on this hill together, romantically looking at the clouds.

"S-Shut up, Ikuto! I was not!" He smirks.

"That's too bad. I was thinking about you, after all," he turns his head towards me and I blush. D-Damn him and his antics! "And, I do believe I am still thinking about you," I push his shoulder and move away from him. He laughs.

"T-Then think about me like that over there!" I look over at him and see him smile. I can never fight him with that smile on his face! He moves closer to me again and leans on my shoulder.

"You're so cold, Amu. And here I was, about to get you ice-cream from the man over there," he points in a general direction and I look up from the ground. Sure enough, there was an ice-cream stand. I'm sure my eyes are shimmering. "What would you like?" he whispers in my ear. G-Gah!

"Vanilla!" he smiles and sits up from the ground. His back is full of grass. He's silly. He turns and looks at me and says:

"I think I'll have _strawberry,_" he's teasing me again! I blush and sit up with him.

"W-Why's that?" He wraps an arm around me and I lean into his semi-hug (his arm is around my shoulder; this is hardly a hug).

"Because I know a _strawberry_ is delicious. Ah, but this little _strawberry_, it's too delicate. I'd have to eat it in portions," my face really heats up and he looks down at me. I know he's smirking, I know!

"I think I'm going to be sick," I whisper. He's torturing me with these lines and I can't do anything to stop him! I don't mind them, sometimes, but this is too much! So why does it surprise me that he has to reply to everything I say?

"Would you like some medicine?" he takes my chin and lifts it towards his face. What the..!? "I know just the cure for you," he whispers. God, his breath is so close! I push him away and stand up.

"J-Just go get the ice-cream, Ikuto!" He laughs and brushes the grass and sticks off his pants before standing up with me.

"Ah, you're no fun, Amu." I grunt.

"I am, too! You just think being perverted is fun!" He smiles. I know he cannot deny this so he offers me a hand. I look up at him and he is looking at me with pleading eyes. Damn him! I take his hand and he pulls me into another hug.

He rubs my back and I close my eyes. "And that's only with you," I guess that's a bit reassuring. "After all, you're easy to tease," H-He's teasing me again! I shake my head against his chest and push away once more. He looks down at me with a confused look on his face and I start to walk away.

"I'm going to get ice-cream! Stay away, you pervert!" I yell back. I don't think I'm angry with him. I just want to see how he likes it when I seem angry! I can hear him running towards me and I walk even faster. That's it, Amu, look pissed off!

"A-Amu! Wait!" I stop and he stops. I wonder what'll happen next. "I'm sorry, Amu. I didn't think something like that could upset you that much," his voice is so quiet! I feel so bad! I turn around with a smile on my face—he has one too. What the hell!? He touches my nose. "Gullible," I blush and take his hand again.

"W-Whatever, Ikuto," he smiles and starts to walk with me. In the end, it's always romance.

At least he doesn't joke around with my heart.

**I finally updated! SNAP.**

**So, this is the start of the days where Ikuto gets to try and wake Amu! What will tomorrow bring? Who knows! I have a few ideas, but I need to come up with fourteen! AHH!**

**You'll see chapters like this. The first half will be Ikuto, and the second half will be Amu. Are Amu's memories true? HMMMMMM. You have to wonder about that!**

**Some characters will show up every once in a while, so the half-chapter deals won't happen TOO often (there might be half of the chapters like this, the other half like a normal chapter. WHO KNOWS!). I can't wait for the 30th chapter though, how far away that might be xD BAH. I should really write more! Ah, about that..**

**The next chapter will come later in the week. I have too much stuff going on in school right now to worry about my writings and stories on here. School is number one priority! 8D**

**With that, you should totally review. I know you guys totally love me and all! Especially since this story gets absolutely no views whatsoever (I think I'm being overshadowed by other stories and people get turned off by the fact that I am not having an Amu/Ikuto build-up love romance deal xD). But! Because of my trustful readers, I appreciate you guys and that's what keeps me writing! 8) **

**Thank you again and review! I'll update faster if you do, I guess?**

**Until next time!**

**TLS**


	17. Day Seventeen

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

_Day Seventeen_

"Are you serious, Ikuto?" I look back and see Rima in the doorway. Ah, I forgot she works here every now and then. I look down at what is in my hands and then back at the little nurse—I shouldn't say little, she grew a bit—in the doorway.

"Don't women like foot massages?" I never asked Amu if she liked foot massages or back massages or any massage of any kind. I usually only teased her about that kind of stuff.

_"Amu," she looked up from her desk and saw me sitting on her bed. She quickly turned back to her homework with a red blush on her face. _

_"What is it, Ikuto?" she muttered. I held out the flowers and she looked back at me. I think she wasn't expecting something like this, especially flowers. I took one of the roses and tore the pedals off. Her eyes widened as each pedal fell to the ground and landed more towards her sitting body._

_"I'm in the mood," I rose from the bed and walked towards her, stepping on the pedals. She didn't look up at me but was in complete shock. "for a massage, Amu. I'll give you one and then you can have one." I let one of my hands set on her desk and another on her chair. I leaned forward and she blinked._

_"You are such a pervert," I smiled._

_"And you love perverts," she shook her head and went back to her homework. I took my hand on the desk to my chest and whispered, "Amu, rejection hurts," and she looked back at me. She smiled a wonderful smile and said:_

_"I love you too much to reject you," and I smiled back. I knew I'd get that kiss somehow._

I blink and notice Rima changing some bandages of Amu's on her arms and legs. "While you spaced out," Ah, she caught me, "I thought about helping her." I nod and lean forward on the bed.

"How is she?" Rima didn't need to glance at the chart and she smiles.

"Her vitals are fine and her blood pressure is stable. Brain activity improved and there seems to be no damages to her brain from what we can see right now. She's fine," I sigh in relief.

"Good," I whisper and lay my head on the bottom of her legs—almost at her feet. I can't take much more silence from her anymore; she needs to wake up right now! All I hear are the beeps from the machines and that damn IV drip dripping nonstop. I hear a chair scratch against the floor and I hear Rima sit down besides Amu.

I lift my head a bit to see her writing something down on the chart. "It's nothing serious," I nod, "but something to let the doctors know," she looks up at me and shakes her head. "Ah, I'm talking to myself! Sorry," I shake my head in acknowledgement.

"No need, Rima," she smiles and puts the chart on her lap, along with her pen.

She leans forward in her chair. "How are you?" I shrug.

"I could be better if Amu were awake and not strapped down in a bed, injured," she nods and looks back at Amu.

"Yes, we all wish for her to wake up," she looks back at me, "if she does not wake up by the time your money is up, you need to find a way to prolong her life," I know. I can't live without her, either. "If not," she glares at me, "I'll kill you myself." She rises from her chair and extends a hand. I don't think I want to shake hands with the Devil! Nonetheless, our hands meet and she nods.

Before she leaves, however, she states: "Ah, yes, about that massage. Don't pinch her toes. That hurts and is not sensual. Try rubbing the soles of her feet," Rima starts to hum on her way out, "it works wonders sometimes," she closes the door and I'm left alone with Amu again. Rub the sole of her feet?

I look at Amu's feet—I seem like a person that has a foot fetish—and rub my own hands together. "Here we go, Amu," I whisper as I take one foot by both hands. I let my thumbs rest in the middle of her foot and I rub up. I can feel her muscles just fold under my touch! I should try this on her when she wakes up. I know she'll like it!

From time to time, I change different techniques—instead of just rubbing up and down, I do circles, then zig-zags, then tapping—and change from one foot to another. Her right foot is tenser than the left foot, so I am trying to focus on that more. I continue to rub and rub and rub, but there's nothing I'm seeing from Amu that'll make her wake up! I sigh; I think I'm about to quit.

But then I see it.

It wasn't something spectacular to someone else.

But to me, it's wonderful.

As I move up her foot, I see something.

My eyes widen.

Her big toe moved.

I let go of her foot and I rise from the chair I'm sitting in; I have to rush to her side. I almost flip the chair over in the process as I run to her side. "Amu?" I whisper to her. I look at her face, then to her foot, then back to her face. There is no more movement, but I know she can hear me and at least feel me now. I grasp her hand with my own and I smile.

"Amu, did you enjoy it that much?" I can feel the tears coming and I know I'm being too hopeful. But she can feel me. I know she can, and if I hold onto her a bit more, maybe she'll move once more. She can, right? I mean, she just wiggled her toe! I can't stand anymore.

"Amu, please," I fall to my knees and lean my head on her arm. "please wake up," Nothing will move after that. I will just sit here and wait for her pretty little eyes to stare back at me, all the more reason to see that beautiful smile light up my life.

**Short chapter! Alrighttt~ You'll probably notice the chapters get a bit shorter now, if it's not a half/half chapter (Amu/Ikuto chapter). But! Hey, at least I thought up another idea, right?**

**Now that I think about it, I don't think I can make it to 30 chapters. 25 is my new goal xD I think 10 ideas to try and wake her up is enough, don't you agree? I don't know, with Blossoms and Odds and all these other stories I'm working on..aaaaah Dx Also, I'm working on another Amu/Ikuto story that involves looooove, so maybe I should get this story done xD**

**So, what I mean by "25" chapters is I'll get to the BIG SCENE at the 25th chapter, then have about 5 chapters after that for the end. "30" was the last limit for ideas, but I can't do it. I know I can't xD Next chapter will be Utau/Aruto/Ikuto/Amu, mostly, so~ I don't know if I can fit another idea into that chapter.**

**We'll see.**

**Thank you for the lovely reviews! I know, I'm not a popular author or story writer, but mannnnnn, I love my stories! And I hope you do too! So thank you my readers! I appreciate each and every once of you.**

**OH MY GOSH I ALMOST FORGOT! DID ANYONE SEE THE NEWEST SHUGO CHARA! PARTY EPISODES?! AHHHHH! I hope next episode is the Carnival/Airport sceneeee! 83 That'd be totally AMAZING!**

**83 I missed my Ikuto/Amu moments in Shugo Chara!**

**ANYWAY! Thank you for reading! Don't forget to review!**

**Until next time!**

**TLS**


	18. Day Eighteen

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

_Day Eighteen_

After yesterday, I had to bring someone along. Well, actually, it turned into two when Utau suggested the other person come along. I'm carrying a basket full of colored eggs—it's almost Easter (which is ironic, since..ah, never mind)—to her room while my father and Utau have some awkward talk behind me. I'm not paying attention, but it involves a lot of screaming and apologies.

As usual, I stop in front of her room. Those two continue to bicker and I turn to them. "I need you two to be quiet!" I whisper; of course, they don't hear me.

"You could've at least called me!" Utau screams. There's a few nurses taking note of their conversation and maybe one doctor is concerned for their health—maybe my own as well.

"But, honey, I knew you would've been busy with your musical career!" Utau shakes her head and is about to yell, but this is the opportune moment to cut them off. It has gone far enough, hasn't it?

"Hey!" I yell. Utau glares over at me but I glare right back—at least, I think I'm glaring. My father puts a hand over his mouth and Utau frowns. More nurses and doctors are watching this scene and I can only think of one thing: are they looking at me because I'm holding a basket of eggs? I breathe in (I always do) and open the door. My father pushes me out of the way and runs inside.

"Ah, Amu!" He happily says. I don't know whether that's normal or not, but I suppose I can use some smiles around here. Utau is the next to push me and I am almost thankful that the eggs are not damaged. Being rammed into a wall can be devastating with eggs!

"Why are you so happy, Dad? You can't be happy when she's in a coma!" I close the door behind me and see those two _over_ her body arguing! I don't think it was a good idea to bring them after all. I sigh and walk past Utau to Amu. She's the only one I really care about in this room.

I place the eggs on her nightstand and let the green strings of confetti fall gently from the basket. "I am only trying to be friendly, Utau!" My father says. Maybe too friendly? I look down at Amu.

"She can't hear you!" That's not true, she heard me. Well, she felt me touching her, but I know she heard me. But I've yet to tell them. Why? Let's just say they would start to be a little too hopeful and I would start to panic about them trying to wake her up, too.

"You don't know that, my daughter!" I sit down on Amu's bed and listen to both of them bicker over her.

"Good thing you're not awake to see this, huh?" I whisper. It was suddenly quiet in the room and I rest my head on her chest. I can feel her rise and fall with that ventilator strapped to her and I can hear her breathing. Her heart is still beating; good. I close my eyes. "It's not loud enough. Not without you here," I whisper again. Utau and my father must be stopping their argument, for now, so I can visit her in peace.

I open my eyes and look at her face. She looks like she hadn't been in an accident, although there are scrapes and bruises still left over. She's still beautiful, though. "Happy Easter, Amu," I close my eyes once more and feel myself listening to her heart beating. I wonder what she's dreaming.

* * *

"You came back for her to, what, have the possibility to leave again!?" Tadase is yelling at Ikuto right now and I'm sitting on the bench with Kukai. I sigh. I didn't think every time they would meet, something like this would happen.

"I would never leave her! Why don't you believe me!?" Kukai looks over at me and asks:

"Are you okay with this?" I shake my head.

"Of course not. They're being idiots!" He starts to laugh and rubs my head.

"Ah, Amu, you're so mean to both of them!" he leans back on the bench and smiles. I look over at him. "You know," he closes his eyes, "Ikuto and I got into a fist fight the other day," he rolls up a sleeve and I notice a huge bruise on his arm! My eyes widen.

"A-AH! Kukai! Does it hurt?!" He laughs.

"Yeah, it does, but he has one on his chest!" Ah, he does? I look over at Ikuto; how come he didn't talk to me about it? I then overhear their argument once more.

"You dirty cat! You would always leave if you had the chance! You've broken other hearts! What's different with Amu?" Ikuto looks like he would punch Tadase right in the face!

"He won't," Kukai comments. Ah, he can read my mind? I look back at Kukai. "But, you know, after that fight, I can't hate him anymore." I lean back in the bench with him and I stare.

"Why?" Kukai shrugs.

"Because I love her, that's what is different!" Ah, good timing, Ikuto. I see Kukai smile.

"I think you know why," He rubs my head again and I grunt. I hate when he does that! "I guess I was jealous when I saw you being with him. But, now that time has passed, you've become so much happier!" I smile. I guess I have, haven't I? "Tadase may be a while before he changes his mind about hating you guys, but I can't do it anymore. I love you both too much," I can feel tears coming. He starts to panic. "A-Amu! Don't cry!" I shake my head and hug him.

"T-Thank you, Kukai!" He is nervous, I know it: he's moving around trying to get out of the grasp. I pull away and notice someone right next to us: Ikuto. Uh-oh.

"U-Uh, Ikuto?" Kukai starts to panic again. "I-I didn't do it! She hugged me, man!" I look up at Ikuto, who is already pissed off, and I stand up.

"Y-Yes! I hugged him and--" He takes me in his arms and I can guess why: jealousy. Or trying to be the alpha male. I can never tell with men.

"I don't think you want another bruise," Kukai stands from the bench and laughs. Ah, that's right! I pull Ikuto's shirt up and look. Right in the middle of his chest, there is a large bruise. I push down on it and he cringes in pain.

"Why didn't you tell me about this!?" I push down harder and he starts to nervously laugh. Kukai begins to laugh as well and Tadase only glares at me. I know it's going to be a long road ahead of that relationship. He walks away without a word and I continue to tease Ikuto with the help of Kukai.

I'll do my best to make amends. I promise!

**I'm closer to my goal of getting to the 25th chapter!**

**Uh, so, half-chapter. And he didn't really try to wake her up either. MORE like a filler chapter. These next two, I swear, they'll be all Ikuto! I SWEAR!**

**20th chapter = BIG scene! 8)**

**25th chapter = HUGE SCENE!!! 8D Then the 30th chapter or something will be the end. Who knows, I might end with 28 chapters or something xD Sorry I haven't updated so long. Uh, I was doing other things, like updating my other stories and school work and playing outside because that's what college kids do: we play kid games outside again.**

_**Alsooooo, I'm going to TRY to finish this story in April. WATCH ME! I will DO IT!**_

_**Thank you for the reviews/alerts/hits/favorites! 8) I love you readers SO MUCH! Good thing you have the easy job to read, huh? Ha-ha.**_

_**Until next time!**_

_**TLS**_


	19. Day Nineteen

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

_Day Nineteen_

I thought I would be here alone, since my family wanted to see Amu for some reason. Instead, I open the door and find the Guardians standing around her bed laughing and carrying on about something. I close the door behind me and see most of them turn their heads.

"Ah, Ikuto! You're just in time!" Nagihiko says near Amu. Somehow, I still get jealous when she's next to a guy I don't want her to be around, but I maintain my composure. That little girl, Yaya, she's jumping around excitedly and comes over to me. She grabs my hands to drag me over to the bed.

"Yes! You're on time! Ikuto will wake Amu up with some jokes!" I've never been good at making people laugh. I stand over Amu and see her sleeping peacefully. Open your eyes, open your eyes…

"Like he'd be able to make her laugh," the boy by the window states, and I pay no attention to him. I sit in the empty chair next to her—he must've been sitting in it before I came in—and smile. Maybe I should smile for her before I start trying to make jokes.

Kukai sits across from me and starts to laugh. "We've been trying to make her wake up by saying what's she bad at!" She's pretty experienced in that field. I shake my head, though, and continue to think about what jokes I can tell. Alas, I don't know any.

Yaya sits next to me and goofily smiles. "I tried making faces at her, but it didn't work!" Of course it didn't work; she can't see! I rub the hair from Amu's face away from her eyes and see them still closed. I just want to see her golden eyes, that's all, God.

The kid with the glasses—I call him Kaoru, but I know that's wrong—sits at the end of the bed and examines her charts. "By the looks of it, she might wake up tomorrow," I can't bring my hopes up, though. She could've woken up any day before this, but she didn't. What makes him think she'll wake up tomorrow?

I'm still trying to think of something that would make Amu laugh, and the others in the room, of course. Ah, maybe they'd get a kick out of my late-night antics when I would sneak into her room. Or, maybe they'd get mad at that and kill me. I'll take my chances, though.

"I remember," I start to talk. They all turn their heads to me, except the boy at the window. "when she was going into high school, when I was teasing her almost every day and falling in love with her." The boy by the window grunts and starts to walk away from the light. He storms out of the room and slams the door. Rima sighs.

"Forgive him, Ikuto. He's not over this mess yet," and she leaves, probably trying to calm him down. I nod and look back at Amu. She'd laugh at this mess, though. Or maybe worry about it and I would be there to make her laugh. Opposites attract, after all.

"One night, I scared her," they all are starting to smile and I am remembering that night.

_Amu entered her room late at night. I could hear her little Charas talk to her about school and how she should give some time to fun stuff. Yes, I think I can help with that. I was standing behind her bedroom door and the lights were off; she wasn't going to turn them on this late, anyway. She closed the door and began walking across the room. I followed her footsteps. _

_"Amu, you should go to the park tomorrow with Ami!" The little red one said._

_"Or you can learn how to make a cake!" The green one stated._

_"Maybe you should just take a nap!" The blue one replied._

_"You could always have a day off with your friends," the yellow one said. Amu pulled the chair from her desk and eagerly sat down. I stood maybe a few feet away from her and the little Charas saw me. I put a finger to my mouth to tell them to be quiet, and they looked down at their little Amu._

_"I don't want to hang out with anyone this weekend," she whispered. She was tired, I could tell. "I just want to be alone," she laid her head down on her desk, "to be loved," she added. I stepped forward and she raised her head again. I stopped. She rose from her seat and looked as though she was determined about something. _

_"Amu?" The red one said. "There are plenty of people that love you!" She nodded and started to laugh._

_"Yes, yes they do! Who needs love!" They all began to laugh and I walked towards her. She wouldn't know what hit her. The Charas flew away and I wrapped my arms around her. My left hand covered her mouth and my right arm wrapped around her waist._

_"I love you, Amu," she started to thrash around and started to scream. I tried to shut her up, but it didn't work. Instead, she bit me and I yelped. I let her go and she turned around. The look on her face was priceless._

_"A-AH! IKUTO!?" She started to hit me and yelled at me. "What the hell was that for?!" She screamed and I looked down at my hand; she bit through the skin! _

_"I just wanted to scare my little Amu," she blushed and started to laugh. _

_"Well, you did just that, Ikuto! Do you know how frightened I was?" She leaned against her desk and caught her breath. I bet her heart was racing._

_"I'll say very, since you bit my hand," She laughed again and looked at my wound. She'd kiss those troubles away._

I stopped telling the story with a smile on my face and looked at Amu. She didn't wake up. Damn, and I thought that story was good enough for her to hear! I could hear the Guardians laughing and they were smiling as well.

"That's our Amu!" They all said. Yes, I'll have to agree. That's our Amu for you.

**Well. I finally updated. **

**The next chapter has something to do with that boy by the window! I'm pretty sure you all know who it is, but hell, if you don't, it'll be a surprise for you!**

**I think I'll update either later tonight or tomorrow. I want to make up for lost time I had for this story xD Whatever, I'm still going to have the big moment at the 25th chapter! I'll give you some information on it:**

**-It's a half chapter.**

**That's all I'm giving xD You can figure out what the big thing is and how it'll happen. I think it's pretty ingenious, but you can be the judge.**

**Sorry for the short chapter and the long wait! I hope my little readers can forgive me 8) **

**With that, you should totally review! I'll be answering all reviews next chapter, so if you have a question you want me to answer, ASK! I never turn down a review! I thank all of my readers for the hits, alerts, favorites, and reviews! I may not be popular because of how this story is written, but I thank you guys for staying by my side!**

**Until next time!**

**TLS**


	20. Day Twenty

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

_Day Twenty_

I am sitting in her room today, eating some yogurt Rima stole for me. "It's for the patient," she said before leaving. Am I being treated like a patient now, since I've been here every day? "Not for the arrogant immature adult in the room that has been harassing nurses and doctors every day he's been here," Maybe, but this yogurt pudding stuff is pretty good. I take a spoonful and place it under Amu's nose.

"Ah, Amu, don't you wish you could eat some with me?" Nothing twitches and I take the spoon away, "Too bad I have to eat it all," I lean forward to her and put the spoon behind me, "by," I whisper in her ear, "myself," I tilt my head to see her face and kiss her cheek. Maybe not as romantic as I planned for something like that, but I'm trying.

I try something else and place the spoon near her lips. Maybe she'd open her mouth? "If you eat this yogurt, Amu," I lean towards her ear again and whisper more words to her, "I will make sure there's something even better than the pudding in your future," I look back at her face. Nothing! I don't know if I can continue with these perverted comments.

She is not waking up. I lean away from her and notice someone else standing in the room. It's another nurse. "I-I'm sorry if I'm intruding!" She blushes and I put the spoon of yogurt into my mouth. Maybe she didn't see my act of romance, who knows. I lean back in the chair and watch as the girl with some kind of a package with a needle smiles. "I don't think you want to watch what I have to do with this," Ah.

I nod and stand from my chair. "Would you mind if I stayed in the room? I'll look out the window the whole time," she shakes her head and her smile widens.

"Not at all, sir! If I catch you peeking though," her hands tighten and squeeze the life out of that poor package. Good god, she is pissed! "we might have to get a room for you," I nod and walk over to the window with my yogurt. I'm sure Amu won't mind if I eat all of this.

Actually, I bet she would. She's always stubborn like that. I hear different noises come inside the room, but I don't look. I know Amu would _hate me_ if I looked and saw something I should've never saw. Then again, I have very good self-control, especially when she forced me to take a shower in her house while she changed right outside of that glass door. I swear, if she would've let me…

I hear the nurse finishing and humming to herself; I continue to look outside. It looks so peaceful out there, a sunny, beautiful day. And here we are, Amu, sitting in a hospital room, waiting for you to wake up. We should be out having a picnic, being at the amusement park, or walking around in the dark. But no, we have to be here. Sucks, doesn't it?

"All done!" the nurse chips. I wave her off and I hear her open the door and leave the room. It's silent again and I'm left with those beeping noises again, with the sound of Amu breathing. I just want to hear her voice, her lovely, sweet voice again. I want to be able to hold her hand (I'm staring at mine right now, and they're so lonely), to walk down the street with her while she has a beautiful smile on her face—I just want to be with her again.

I place the empty yogurt cup on the windowsill and look up at the clouds. No, she cannot go yet, so I will make her cloud wait. She will not be joining the Angels until I say she can. I turn around and see another person in the room; he was here yesterday. "Can we talk?" He whispers. He has this distraught expression on his face and I'd feel awful if I said no.

"Sure, Tadase."

* * *

It's pretty silent in this room still. It's only been five minutes and it's a little awkward in here. We're sitting across from each other, with Amu in the middle. I look down at her, then back at him; he's been staring at her since he arrived. "I want to apologize," he whispers. He grabs her hand and sadly smiles. "I've been a fool," I continue to stare at him.

"Why is that?" Tadase shrugs. I suppose being a fool does this to you? Ah, I should not be joking around right now. This is not the place or time.

"I should've never been angry at you two," he replies. Ah, he is apologizing for being mad at me coming back to Japan. "I was jealous, knowing that she loved someone else. I had said 'I love you' almost every day to her, hoping she would love me back like that. But she was so lonely without you," I see him squeeze her hand. Somehow, that is not bothering right now.

I shrug and he continues. He's still looking at her. "Then you came back. At first, I thought it was great that you could come back and make her smile again—she was awfully depressed from your disappearance. But you took her heart. I never saw it coming, so I felt this bitter rage towards you for taking her away from me. And I guess I let all of that anger be directed at Amu," he looks up at me, "but when you disappear from someone's life, you cannot just come back and whisk them away." I smile.

"It happens," he nods and I look down at Amu. Now that I think about it, it was rather quick that we got together that day. Huh. I look back up at Tadase; he's staring at that hand.

"The only person I should be angry at," he sighs, "is only me." He brings the hand to his lips and kisses the back of her hand. I blink and continue to listen. "I should've never been that angry for either of you, especially her. I acted irrationally and I curse myself for being that jealous of you two." He lets go of her hand and looks up at me. Then, he bows. "So I apologize, Ikuto. Will you forgive me?" I lean on the bed and rub his head. Always the little one, isn't he?

"Of course, Tadase," he looks up with these tears in his eyes and smiles. "I'm sure if she were awake, she would've forgiven you, too." He nods and has this relieved look on his face. I can't end without a tease, though. "Although, I'm pretty pained from all of those fights we had," I have a smirk on my face; he's staring at me, "and you hurt my feelings. I think you owe me more than just an apology," he rises from his chair and shakes his head.

"You can never just handle this like an adult, can you?" I smile and he laughs. "I don't know how Amu puts up with your antics," he starts to walk away and I look back at her.

"I'm sure she had to put up with you, too. It's just different with this love," I don't know if he looks back or anything, but it's silent in this room again. That's okay. The silence is fine after a while.

**Aha! It was Tadase all along. How clever of you..**

**Actually, this was planned for a long time, how I wanted Tadase to be all apologetic. So, if you guessed him apologizing at all, you're pretty good at solving mysteries. I'm pretty sure I'd give you a high five if you were here with me 8)**

**I don't like how I ended this chapter, ha-ha. D8 I'm just horrible at endings with chapters. And it's a little longer than usual! 1400 words has not been around for a while now, so if you wanted longer chapters, this is probably going to make you happy.**

**Unless you hate Tadase like I do. Then maybe not.**

**Let's reply to reviews!**

**Chapter 15**

**Winter Knight: Yeahhh, I know. I feel terrible that I rushed that chapter. There could've been a TON more I could've added, but because I wanted to keep it in my 1000-1500 word range, I decided to go against having it be a 3000 word chapter xD  
****Toshirou-chan: 8D Yay! Well, I think you know when he got a response, but it wasn't a very good one xD At least she moved! And I know! It pained me to see Ikuto in all this pain and worry in the anime while she was off having so much fun with her friends. Where's the love, Amu? Where's the love? But that first chapter of Encore--goodness, I loved it. I'm a fan of Kutau, and perhaps they could've had a bit about them actually liking each other (is there a part in the manga that did that?) but whatever, I still loved that kiss. MMM! Maybe the next chapter will be Ikuto and Amu! Ah, that'd make my day.  
drega: Yay! 8D I'll be excited with you.**

******Chapter 16**

**Toshirou-chan: Glad you liked it! 8D And you're spot on about these half-chapters. I should so give you a high five or a cookie for being so awesome! Ha-ha. I don't know right now what I want him to try next, with trying to wake her up and all, but trust me, the last one will be good. Maybe. I don't know xD I'll try to make it as cute as possible, how's that?  
FlowerFairy9751: 8D Thanks! I try my best to make it awesome and fantastic~**

**Chapter 17**

**Cg2nenetwin: 8D That's right, at least she moved! She's not just lying there like a doll anymore.  
Toshirou-chan: Ha-ha. I wish I could give Ikuto a hug too! Dx He's never around when I want to, anyway. 8) I know, I love doing those little flashbacks. That's one of the few times I can be all romantic and cheesy. I've got some puns and one-liners up my sleeves! 8D**

**Chapter 18**

**Toshirou-chan: I KNOW RIGHT? Tadase needs to stop being such a baby! ****(Maybe he's more mature in this chapter, though. Who knows~) **At least Kukai came to terms with them going out, although that was probably because of Utau. I wonder how Utau WOULD react if she DID see her father again..I think I'm spot on xD Ha-ha. Ah, I hate filler chapters. I feel like they're necessary at times, but goodness, they do nothing for the story or anything. It's just when I have a writer's block.  
Midnight Neko Girl: 8D Thank you! I love this story too, even though it's not as popular as other stories on here 8P Oh well. I'm glad you like it though! 8)  
drega: Hooray! I know, there's a lot going on in my life AGAIN, so I'm busy AGAIN. Oh well. At least I don't have any major upcoming exams~ I'll be able to update whenever I want!  
DarkDreamer2009: I try not to have short chapters, but with the unsuccessful attempts of having LONG chapters from previous stories, I'm trying something new. Seems to be about the same. Huh, maybe I'm an unpopular author xD Ha-ha. Thank you for the lovely review, though! I'm so glad you enjoy my story! 8)

**Chapter 19**

**FlowerFairy9751: Ah, I know, I'm terribly sorry! This chapter is about 1400 words long, so that's much longer than the last two-three chapters. I hope it's long enough! 8)  
Toshirou-chan: I bet you could guess the ending of this story if you wanted to. Although, it's a vague ending, so maybe not. Ah, I love being romantically involved with those two. And if it involves a prank, count me in! Ha-ha. OH I KNOW! I just tuned into that episode JUST BECAUSE he was back, and I thought they were going to follow the manga and the airport scene! BUT NO! I was so mad that he only got like.. two minutes of air-time and left AGAIN! WHAT THE!? I was so mad that I had to sit through that just to have no ending for them. Although, I loved the line "Hurry and grow up." Just their lovely stares... 8) That was the only good part in the whole episode. And how can they just end the series like THAT!? So vague!**

**Ah, and with that, I thank all of my lovely reviewers/readers out there! The next time I'm answering questions/reviews is the 26th chapter (I really want to answer to those reactions from the 25th chapter, ha-ha). I hope to end this story either the 28th chapter or 30th. I'm going to have to think up some stuff after the 25th chapter then 8P Boo.**

**Thank you again! Please review, tell me how I'm doing, and I'll love you forever! And those that put me on their favorites/alerts, I thank you all too! Don't think I forget about you~**

**Until next time!**

**TLS**


	21. Day Twenty One

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

_Day Twenty-One_

I cannot help that this is melting in my hands. I'm trying to get to her room as fast as possible, but the damn warm weather is not helping me at all! This time, I can't stop in front of her door; I just use my foot to kick the door open. She's still there, at least.

I lick some of the contents off my hands and close the door with my foot again. "I've come with your ice-cream, Amu," I have one vanilla cone and one chocolate—just enough for both of us. I maneuvered the chair next to her bed and I sit down right beside her. I hold the vanilla up to her face. "If you want some," I start to lick my chocolate ice-cream, "you'll have to wake up," nothing happens.

I still hold the food in front of her nose (maybe she can smell ice-cream) and I continue to eat my fair share. I look over at her and notice some of the ice-cream melting again. I hate warm weather. I pull the cone away and start to wipe up the stuff that's melting. Then mine starts to drip. Then they both start. This is too much ice-cream for me.

I hold out the vanilla again. "Come on, Amu, I know how much you _love_ vanilla ice-cream, especially when we went _there_," I push the ice-cream to her lips and notice some of the dessert hit. I carefully let some of it coat her lips and perhaps have her taste it while being asleep. "So will you have your ice-cream?" I lean towards her and whisper: "For me?"

Then, I realize I still had the ice-cream to her lips. And I accidentally smeared half of the ice-cream on her face. Ah, well, maybe I did that on purpose, I don't know. But, to look at her like that, it's hilarious. I start to laugh (I'm panicking, though, because I don't have any napkins) and I run to the sink. I throw the vanilla cone into the sink and allow that to melt.

As fast as I can, I start to eat my chocolate while trying to find something to wipe down her face. Then it hit me, and I turned to her. Ah, she would hate me if she knew I was going to do this, but it must be done. And I hope none of the nurses come in here.

I walk over to her bed and sit next to her. Wow, I never realized how uncomfortable these beds are—beside the point. I lean down to her face and whisper: "Why, Amu, you have made a mess. Here," I lick her cheek, "let me help you with that," so I start to lick her face—like a cat.

So maybe I haven't gotten over my cat-like instincts. And maybe I'm still like a cat sometimes, but it's only with Amu, for some reason. But, I don't mind, especially when it comes to "kissing" Amu like this. She's delectable, so I don't mind having her for another dessert.

Soon enough, she's clean. Well, her face is still sticky and you can see some of the ice-cream with my saliva, but that's beside the point, too. I feel my chocolate cone dripping all over the hardwood floor. I lean away from her face and hope, hope, that her eyes are open. They aren't, and I sigh. I stand up from the bed and walk over to the sink—well, actually, I hopped over there so more ice-cream would not drip on the floor. I turn back to Amu.

She looks so much better today. I have to wonder why she won't wake up. I turn to the mirror above the sink and let the chocolate cone drop (I wonder if I can do that). I lean against the porcelain. I just want to be with her again, that's all I'm asking for, just another day with her. I want to see her smile and laugh, to feel her hands wrapped around mine, her arms wrapped around me, her lips against mine. Ah, dreaming again.

I turn back to her and start to walk toward the bed. I don't want her to be stuck here until she dies. I want to grow old with her, have a family (maybe, I don't know if I can stand a kid) and just love her. Maybe I'm thinking too far ahead into the future, and maybe I'm just trying to set my life together. But nothing else matters. I lie down on the bed and bring her into my arms. I want to be by her side every waking moment, in bed and in life.

I'm just a hopeful dreamer, that's all. I just want my other half.

* * *

"Where are we?" It's my seventeenth birthday, and Ikuto is surprising me with some kind of treat. I'm blindfolded at the moment and he's steering me in any direction he can make me go. I've already walked into three walls and four doors! And he just laughed about it!

"Just a minute," he says to me. If I hit another wall or door, I swear, I'm just going to rip this blindfold off and hit him right in the face. But, instead, he stops me and I can hear a lot of people around. Where are we, exactly? He takes the blindfold off and I look around. We're at the park? "Do you remember when we were trying to find ourselves?"

Ah, we're at the fountain! Tadase and I were on a date—well, actually, it was obligatory shopping we had to do for school and the Guardians—and he had gotten us ice-cream! It just so happened I had to spill on myself, being the klutz I am, and he left, only to have Ikuto replace him! It was troubled times in the life of Amu, that's for sure.

I look over at Ikuto. "So, why are we here?" He takes my hand and walks me over to the bench in front of the water fountain. He takes my shoulders and pushes me down on the bench. What the--?!

"Stay here," and he runs off. So, I'm all alone, again, here in this park! This place has no good memories, that's for sure. I go back to that time, though. I remember when Ikuto came, I was so hostile towards him and I didn't want to be around him. I was afraid that he was coming into my time with Tadase, but I never realized what he wanted. I just worried about myself.

But when I was so close to him, it made my heart race! Everything in my body was so nervous being around him, and when I felt him that close, it was like an adrenaline rush! Sadly, I never realized how gentle and kind he was—I only saw the perverted side. Maybe things would've been different if I never treated him like that, or maybe he would've never left. Ah, who am I kidding? I'm such a hopeful dreamer!

Soon enough, I see two cones pushed in front of my face. "Chocolate or Vanilla?" Wow, this really reminds me of that day. I take the vanilla cone and smile. "Always the child, I see," I grunt.

"I know you like chocolate. That's why I took the vanilla," he smirks.

"Wise decision, Amu," I shake my head and look down at the delicious treat. I dreamily smile and look up at him. He's smiling too! What a wonderful moment.

"Thank you, Ikuto," I feel him sit next to me and wrap his arm around my shoulder. I lean into his warmth and start to eat my ice-cream. Ah, now these are the kind of days I want all the time.

"Anything for you, Amu," I hear him start to lick his cone, "Happy birthday, after all," He kisses the top of my head—I don't mind if there's chocolate ice-cream in my hair right now. I blush at the thought of him being here on my birthday, having a whole day with him. And I know that when we finish this, we'll go somewhere else, together.

It always seems to end like that. And I don't care at all.

* * *

_She's smiling._

**GASP. I wonder what the ending could mean! Hmm.**

**A lot of you are starting to guess what's going to happen. And one of you TOTALLY has this ending down to a T. God, I am NOT good with suspenseful stories, am I? XD Oh well, I guess it'll be a surprise to some of you. And we'll see what happens when I put it into the story. MWAHAHA.**

**Uh, so, long chapter. It's about 1400 words! Oh man, I'm on a roll. Anyone like those romantic thoughts? Yeah, there's going to be a LOT of them now that we're down to the wire. I WONDER WHAT'LL HAPPEN IN THE END. HMMMM.**

**Oh, yes, and if you're wondering, the ice-cream scene that I briefly talked about here is in episode 33 of the anime for Shugo Chara. It's pretty adorable, minus the yucky Tadamu moments xP**

**Thanks for all of the reviews/hits/alerts/favorites! And if you want a question answered or you just want to say how awesome/horrible this story is, go ahead and review! You can also message me, too! I'm always welcome to reply to anything you want! 8)**

**Thank you again, my readers! I'll see you again soon! (Let's see what Ikuto will do next!)**

**Until next time!**

**TLS**


	22. Day Twenty Two

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

_Day Twenty-Two_

I had a terrible dream last night. Everyone was in her hospital room, telling her their goodbyes. As if she is not going to wake up; I'd die before she decided not to wake up. And that's the truth. But I digress; she'd never have visitors except for maybe the Guardians and I. As if they would say goodbye to her right now.

Besides, yesterday…just thinking about it makes me smile! I must've done something right with the ice-cream, because she smiled. She smiled! That must mean something, right? Her brain activity must be coming back to normal, just like she was before the accident. I wish they would take that stupid tube out of her throat; if she did wake up, she'd say my name, for sure.

I'm at the hospital today, yet again. All of the doctors and nurses know me by name, and whenever I come in, they always have a big smile on their faces. Like I need that, doctor. I'll start to think that she's awake, so I run down the hallway—which I'm doing right now, by the way—and when I open the door, she'll still be on that bed, sleeping.

I'm running because I can hear a flat-line. God, please god, don't let it be Amu, don't let it be Amu…I open the door and can still hear the noise. But she's still breathing. It's from the people next door. There's someone standing at the end of her bed, and here I am, panting like a moron.

I try hiding the stuffed animal from him, but it looks like the other person with him—a woman—caught it before I could get it behind my back. "Ah, Ikuto, are you going to sleep with that when Amu moves in with you?" The woman has a smug look on her face and I close the door. The long noise stops and I can hear some of the doctors shuffling out of that room. God, I hope that doesn't happen here. I'll go to extreme measures before she dies.

"Shut up, it's not for me, mother," I mumble. She smiles and my father starts to laugh. They must've came a few minutes ago when I went to get this teddy bear. My father wraps his arm around my shoulder and starts to tease me. Yes, I believe I get my teasing side from him.

"Oh, you can tell us, Ikuto! You know we're open to your stuffed animal craze!" That was ten years ago! I was a little boy! How can they just say that right in front of Amu? Ah, now she knows about my stuffed animals, which sucks. Maybe she'll forgive me. My mother is looking at Amu and she's rubbing her hand. What's going on that's making my mother worried?

Ah, before I forget: I know what the nervous twitches with my parents are. My mother will start rubbing someone's hand if she gets worried or nervous, and my father will start to joke around like nothing's wrong. There's always something wrong when he jokes. Speaking of which, he's laughing now! "What's wrong?" I whisper.

My mother tries to act it off—she's still rubbing Amu's hands, by the way. "Ikuto? What are you talking about?" I sit down across from my mother and she has the most beautiful smile on (it's second-best to Amu's, though). But, her eyes say a different story and her expressions say otherwise. My father sits on the bed next to my mother and smiles.

"We're just here to spend time with you and Amu, that's all!" That's strange, actually. My parents never really did things to just do them. They're not the type of people to come across town and spend time with someone, _just_ to spend time with them. It's not right.

I lean back and rest my feet on the metal bar below Amu's mattress. God, this thing is always cold! No wonder most people are in the hospital—they'll get sick if they touch the metal bar! "Just spill the information. I'm not a kid anymore," finally, my parents look at each other with the saddest looks on their faces. Wait, saddest? No, that must be disappointment. Yes, disappointment.

"I'm afraid," my mother starts. She's afraid of what? Before I can ask, my father continues for her. She's already tearing up!

"What's she trying to say, Ikuto, is that because of the advanced stage Amu's in and how many machines she's on, it looks like your funding from me is about to end," my eyes widen. Wait…no, that's not possible. I have another seven days before I have to really start to panic! "The tests were too expensive and started to drain the money I set aside to you. "In three days," three? "she won't be alive," I can't believe this. This can't be happening. God? Are you playing a joke on me?

I lean forward on the chair and hit my forehead on the top of Amu's hand. I start moving it back and forth, trying to see if I get any response—nothing. Absolutely nothing. So, I'm back to where I started. I'm inevitably going to lose her and she's not going to be here anymore. My eyes are tearing up; god, I haven't cried in a long time. But I have to let it out. You're going to die, Amu, unless you wake up. Please, wake up!

The weird thing about it is that even though I think about her, I think about the driver of that car. My parents are now crying with me, and I hear the door open behind us. I don't look; it's probably just a nurse. It closes, so she must've left. This, this can't be happening. No, Amu, you can't die on me. Not yet! We still have a life to live! We have to have a family, a child of our own, and I need to see you smile again! Please, Amu, please wake up!

Who did this to you?

* * *

It's after school! Ah, finally, the end of a long day, and it's finally the weekend! I'll be seeing Ikuto soon when I get to my locker…which is being surrounded by a group of girls. Great! As if I haven't seen any drama today in the first place (Tadase, no matter how many times I try to talk to him, won't talk to me). And it seems like they have been waiting for me for quite some time now. I wonder what this could be about.

"There she is!" Ah, I know that voice anywhere. The group of girls are coming right towards me and I just stand in the middle of the hallway. Please, make this quick! The leader—she's obnoxious and ridiculous—steps out of line and walks right up to me. She's a little taller than me, but I think I win in the intimidation area.

"Listen!" she jabs me with her pointer finger in my chest. Ow! She's so bony! "You better break up with Ikuto! Now that he's back in town, he's mine!" Not this again. Another girl speaks up.

"Yes! He must forever remain single! He can never be tied down unless it is with us!" Another girl starts to talk.

"So there is no need for you to be dating him, much less kissing him!" The girl in front of me has a smug look on her face and I am getting really annoyed with this. It's bad enough I have to deal with this _during_ school! And now after school, right when I'm about to enjoy my weekend with Ikuto! God, people suck!

"Like I would ever listen to you guys," I appalled them, because their looks are priceless right now. Ah, such is the joy of being calm and collective. "Seriously, I'm not going to break up with him because you guys tell me to do it. If I love him, I love him. I won't let him go. Now, if you excuse me," I nudge passed the girl in front of me. Apparently, that's a bad idea, because I am now surrounded by everyone and their pushing me into the hard steel lockers.

The openers are being pushed into my back; the wheels on the locks are tearing at my skin underneath my shirt; the girl holding me up onto the locker is the leader. God, I hate her. "Let me go!" I scream. I'm trying to kick the girl, but the girls are holding my legs down. At least I'm trying to put up a fight with these people, not just listening to them and doing what I'm told.

The girl that's holding me—she can never leave me alone, can she? Is she jealous? Probably, since she's obsessed with Ikuto. "You better do what we say!" she screams at me. God, where's this anger coming from? She drops me on the ground (I wasn't ready, so my knees hit the ground instead of my feet. The group of girls following this one start to walk away, but the leader bends over and whispers: "Or else you'll pay with your life," I grunt and she starts to walk away, too.

Why should I take her seriously? She has never done anything before, so why would this time be any different? "Amu?" I know this voice. I look up and see Ikuto bending down to the ground. "Why are you sitting on the dirty ground?" I grunt again and push myself off the ground.

"Some stupid girls trying to intimidate me about our relationship pushed me down to the ground! Like hell I'll listen to them, though," Ikuto smiles and stands with me.

"Well, we'll just show them that we're perfect together, huh? Maybe we'll drown them with our _own_ yelling, _Amu,_" Ah, I'm blushing. I push him away and start to walk really fast down the hallway.

"Ikuto, you're such a pervert! You should be the one still in high school!" I hear him laugh and he starts to run after me. I can never get away from him, can I (not like I would want to, anyway)?

He grabs my arm and snakes his hand down to grab my own hand. He smiles down at me and I blush again. "But I'm your immature pervert, right?" I smile. Yes, that's how I want it to be from now on, anyway. I won't listen to them. They can try to get him, but they won't succeed.

Only I am in his heart—no matter how perverted and immature he can be sometimes.

**LONG chapter. It's only because I feel bad that I didn't update sooner than today.**

**Sorry, but I'm getting into the final weeks of school, which means that FINALS are coming up. Dx I'm not ready. First final I have? An oral exam in German. BAH!**

**Anyway, someone reviewed the ending to this already. GOD, you are totally good. I won't say who, but they should know from this chapter. Just sayin'. But, YES, the ending is coming up! I really wanted to end this story this month, but I think I might have to end it in May. I am not sure yet x(**

**My other story is in need of an update, but, hell, that's about 4000 words a chapter. That's going to take me a while.**

**Anyway, after this story, uh, I don't know. I might make another story. I HAVE NO IDEA!**

**Anything else..hmmmm...OH! I know, it's a bit inhumane for his father to just do that, but hospitals are pretty expensive. Srsly.**

**I think that's all I have. Thank you again for the hits/reviews/favorites/alerts! You guys are the best.**

**Until next time!**

**TLS  
**


	23. Day Twenty Three

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

_Day Twenty-Three_

I bought a package of strawberries on the way to the hospital. I didn't know what I was going to try, but the thought of losing her…It's been on my mind since I heard the news. I cried last night, that much I remember. And I remember throwing a bunch of things in my place because I was so upset that I couldn't handle the pressure. Utau and Kukai tried calling me, Tadase too, but it was too much to pick up the phone. I just wanted to lay in the empty bed.

So when I saw those strawberries, god, I just wanted to break down again in the middle of the day out in public! I kept my composure, though (although I think I scared the shop keeper when I started breathing exercises), and now I'm walking through these white halls to her room. The nurses and doctors are smiling, but I can only keep my head down. I wish I could be hopeful.

I can hear her machines still producing those repetitive noises and I can hear those ventilators keeping her lungs full of fresh air. I'm coming, Amu. You won't be alone! I open the door with tears in my eyes and I see someone sitting next to her. She has this straightened posture staring directly at Amu. I'd never think she'd come to see her. "Saaya?" She doesn't move.

I close the door behind me and I walk over to the bed. She is still staring at Amu, still trying to keep her eyes away from me. "What are you doing here?" She dips her head away from my body and I cannot see her face. I look down at Amu—she's so lovely, so vibrant even when she sleeps. I look down at the strawberries and open the package; I bet she would love these.

I take one bite and I feel the tears start to fall. God, they smell just like her shampoo (I kind of smelt her hair one day) and these taste so divine—like her lips on a summer day. I have to sit down, there's no way I can stand up while crying. I pull a chair across from Saaya and I hide my face. I'm sure she's not wanting to look at me while I cry.

"Sorry," I whisper. I close the package of strawberries and wipe the tears away. "I must look like a fool crying in front of you both," I hear nothing but Amu's breathing and I try to get my breathing relaxed. I'm sure Amu would not like to hear this crap right now.

"It's not you that should be apologizing," Saaya whispers. She sounds so strained and pained. What's wrong with her? I look up (I look like a wreck, I know) and catch her stare. She's crying with me; it looks like she's been crying for a long time. She looks down at her lap and hiccups a few times before continuing. "You have nothing to apologize for," she's shaking now.

I continue to stare at her and notice her holding back so much. "I just wanted to come here for Amu, actually," she cries out, "but I know she can't hear me!" she coughs off something and she continues to cry into her tissue by her mouth. It looks wet, almost as if she's been crying for hours. "I've tried, Ikuto, but I simply cannot believe she is going to die," How does she know? In fact, how did she know her room was here?

I stand up. I want to console her, or maybe I want some comfort in my life too, but I feel terrible for this girl! I'd hate to see her continue to cry about something like this. I know Amu won't die, but to see someone else cry about it and talk about it, it just makes me want to cry even more.

Saaya is starting to shake her head violently and she looks almost furious! "No, please! Don't come near me! Please sit back down!" She yells at me. What am I to do? It's obvious that the girl wants comfort and is in deep pain right now, but she wants me to keep away. Should I sit back down? I think I have to; I'm starting to cry again. "Please, just give me a minute."

I am taking count of how many heart beats Amu takes and how many of those are for me. Maybe she's dreaming about me. Imagine, a comatose dream all about Amu and I; I think she'd go insane! Or maybe she'd never want to leave the dream. But she'll have to if she wants to spend the rest of our lives together. That's just the beauty of reality; it's never a dream when you know it's real.

Saaya is composing herself right now: wiping away the tears, trying to control her breathing, whatever else she's trying to do, she's doing just that. Her face is blushing from crying so much. She looks at me with a saddened face and asks me something in the guiltiest voice I've ever heard: "Do not hate me after what I am about to say."

She's done nothing wrong in my life. The only thing she was capable of doing in the past was stalking me and obsessing over me. I don't think I can hate someone over that (I know Amu did something like that a few years ago, but that's just me). She breathes in and lets the air out.

"A few weeks ago, I was out on an afternoon drive. My driver was waiting for the pedestrians in the area to stop. As we were waiting, I was in the backseat reminiscing on the past. I don't know why, but it was something to do so time could go faster. I was deeply depressed that day and I cannot remember why. Maybe it had something to do with the memories.

"Anyway, as I was sitting there, I saw someone that I recognized. I saw you. Oh, it was a grand sight to see that day! You were just walking by yourself, having a great smile on your face. I was about to roll down the window when I saw her," Saaya looks down at Amu but continues, "Suddenly, I saw both of you happy and carefree and I felt vengeful. I do not know why, but something about her being near you was painful to see, especially when I thought you were happy for other reasons.

"I told the driver to drive me home. I couldn't bear to see you two on a date together. It was inconceivable!" She's talking about the night before the accident. Amu and I were on a walk together, just before I parted with her. It was a good night, actually. "The next day," Saaya continues, "I was out during the day with my driver again. I was going to go shopping and take my mind off of things. We had to wait for more pedestrians to pass the street once more, so I stopped and looked out the window.

"Then I saw her. I saw Amu. She was smiling and as happy as can be, Ikuto. Oh, you should've seen the smile she had! But all I could think about was my other side, my old side. I hadn't seen her in years, but something about her…so I watched her get closer to the corner of the sidewalk. And as I looked at her look both ways for cars, I remember telling my driver: 'Go when I say to go.'

"She started walking across the street. Ikuto, it's not my fault, believe me, it's not. But I could only see her on the ground, dead, and I never thought about you being hurt or upset. The driver looked at me and asked, 'What are we doing?' and I remember saying, 'She's going to get hit,' I pointed out towards the street and followed Amu with my finger. She slowly started crossing, trying to get to that café.

"I think you two were going to meet, right? I didn't know. I just wanted her gone so I could try again with you. it was pure jealousy, Ikuto, believe me! It's not my fault, but I couldn't help myself. My driver didn't want to do it, but I yelled at him to go. And he did. And he hit her. I hit her. I saw her hit the windshield and her almost lifeless body topple onto the ground. The driver pulled over and I sat there in horror, thinking: 'What have I done?'

"I saw her pained face, Ikuto. She felt the impact and she saw my face. If she wakes up, she'll know I hit her. My driver told me to get out and walk amongst the crowd. I did, and he took the fall. I was in the crowd when you arrived, Ikuto, and all I could hear from her was your name and her saddened face looking off into the distance for you. How shameless of me to think that I could tear you guys apart!

"That is why I'm here, Ikuto, to make amends. I hit her, and now, I might've killed her. It was hard to see you that day at the mall. I can't take the pain anymore. I just need you to know that I'm terribly sorry. If you hate me, I'm sure I'll understand. But I just want her to know that I'm sorry, and without me, she wouldn't be in this mess," Saaya looks down at her lap. I am just staring at her.

"Please say something," she whispers. I can't. I simply…there are no words to say to her. How..how…I just want to yell at her, to just kill her right now. My rage inside is calling for revenge, but I know better. I'm in a horrified state of mind right now—someone I knew tried to kill her, and she might if she doesn't wake up. I just want to yell, but I know better.

Instead, I get up from my chair and whisper in the most disgusting voice I could ever have: "How can I not hate someone that tried to kill her?" Saaya doesn't look up at me—good, because if she did, I might've screamed right in her face. She continues to whisper her apologies, and I know she means it, but I don't believe her. She can change at any moment and snap again.

And I may snap. I don't know. But I turn away from her and walk outside—I must've slammed the door, because it's closed behind me. I feel my anger reach its limit and I punch through—through—a wall. The doctors and nurses are coming over to look at my hand now, but I turn away from them. I hear the door open and Saaya comes at me.

"I told you I was sorry!"

"Get away from me, you murderer!" I scream without thinking. She's crying hysterically and here I am, calling her a murderer. Earlier I wanted to comfort her. Now I need comfort and right now, she's the only one that's frustrating me and disgusting me. The doctors and nurses take her by her arm and tell her that it's best to leave. Yes, please leave.

"I said I was sorry!"

"You wanted to kill her!" They started to drag her away down the hallway. Until she turned that corner, I had nothing but hatred for her! I hear a familiar voice behind me—it's Rima.

"Are you okay?" I turn to her—I'm probably angrily staring at her—and I breathe in.

"No," is the only thing I say before entering the room again. I close the door and start to cry in frustration. This is partially my fault, Amu. What have I done?

**I had time on my hands last night, so I whipped this sucker up.**

**Actually, this is the longest chapter EVER in this story. Imagine that, right? Anyway, yes, Saaya (SOMEONE GUESSED IT) is technically to blame. WHO WOULD'VE THUNK IT, HUH?**

**I was going to have Ikuto go on a rampage, but man, I don't think he'd be able to do something like that. Next chapter will be a half-chapter--Amu/Ikuto--to get a sense what they're going to do on the 24th day 8D I can't wait to get to the 25th chapter. MMM. It'll shock everyone~ (Maybe)**

**Someone reviewed last chapter about having an oral exam for Japanese? I took that in high school! It was intense Dx I had to do an oral presentation for both Japanese and English, and I swear, I changed languages halfway through my English presentation (they were both on the same day! Boo!) xD It kind of sucked.**

**Thank you for the reviews/hits/favorites/alerts! Lovely readers, I can't thank you enough. Remember: I'm replying to reviews in the 26th chapter, because I'd love to hear your thoughts on the 25th 8)**

**Until next time!**

**TLS  
**


	24. Day Twenty Four

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

**NOTE: First part = Amu; Second part = Ikuto. **

**SIDE NOTE: THIS CHAPTER IS LONGGGG. Sorry if it's too long..CONTINUE!  
**

_Day Twenty-Four_

I'm being threatened by Saaya again. It's always the same thing, too: if I don't leave Ikuto _right now_, there'll be dire consequences. As if my life is threatened in any way by those fools. We're standing in the hallway—she loves to yell at me in front of people—and she's yelling at me about how I didn't break up with Ikuto. Oh, yes, and Ikuto is standing right next to me.

I don't think we're listening. Well, I know I'm not listening, but I keep hearing the same thing: "You need to leave him! You should never speak to him ever again and leave him alone!" How did she get into this school again? She graduated with Ikuto! "How can you even date someone like this, Ikuto?!" He sighs and I lean against the lockers. This may take a while.

She turns her attention back on me—I think I'm giving her the whole "I'm bored and I want to leave" look, but I don't think she cares—and points her finger right at me. "You did this!" Wha—what did I ever do!? "You turned Ikuto into something he's not!" Wha—what?! That doesn't even make any sense! What was he before? "Before, he was kind, gentle, thoughtful, and all around loving," I swear her eyes have hearts in them now, "and now he's passive because you're near him all the time!"

"Because we're going out?" I whisper. Maybe I shouldn't have opened my mouth like I did. She caught it and now there's fire in her eyes. Damn it. Looks like this will take even longer than expected.

"No, no, no! You put a spell on him that made him like you! How can anyone possibly like you!" Ikuto looks down at me and I didn't think I could be phased by her words. How can anyone really say something that cruel, though? "You're the least bit attractive, you hardly have a personality, and your voice is annoying!" Wait, hers isn't? I continue to listen, "What, did you give into his sexual advances?" I'm getting pissed off now, so I lean away from the lockers.

"I know you would've liked to have done that to him!" I close my eyes and start to yell: "Get away from me with your petty jealousy!" Then, I'm silenced. There's hundreds of gasps around us, and my face suddenly has this stinging sensation resonating from my left cheek. D-Did she just slap me? The last thing I remember is this loud smacking noise echoing in the hallway, after I yelled about her jealousy. I open my eyes and look at her—I must look pissed off. She's angry too.

"Who would be jealous of you!" I feel Ikuto move away from me and grab her wrist. W-What's he doing? I can't see his face; his back is to my body. God, that slap really hurt! She actually has some kind of power in her body, huh?

Ikuto just pushed her against the wall. Oh, goodness, what's going to happen!? "Don't touch her ever again, Saaya," she still has this anger in her eyes.

"But why! Why her, not anyone else?"

"Like you?" he snaps back. I've never heard him have this much anger in his voice. "This has gone far enough, Saaya. Leave her alone and never hurt her anymore. Otherwise, if you touch her once more," he whispers something to her, but I can't hear him. The thing he said, though, made her bring tears to her eyes and run off with curses flying towards both of us. I lean against the lockers and I can hear a lot of people asking about her and I. I hope I never see her again.

I feel a cold hand against my warm cheek and I look up. "Are you okay?" Ikuto looks pissed. I sigh and nod. It does hurt, though, and the way he's pushing against it makes it hurt even more. He takes his hand away and holds onto me tight—and I mean tight. He's never held me like this before. It's almost protective. "I'm sorry," he whispers, "it's my fault," but I can't blame him for my own problem. I got hurt from my stupid self. It's not his fault.

It never was.

---

_"I'll kill you_" echoes in my mind. It's been a long time since I said those words to anyone—two years, to be exact, when I stood next to Amu while Saaya yelled at her. I didn't think I could get that vicious with anyone but my enemies, my own self even, but I did, and it was with a woman. So shameless, I know.

Right now, I'm staring at the ceiling in my own room. I didn't have the strength to go back to the hospital today, despite only having these last two days to spend with her before she'll die. I've become a hopeless mess, trying and trying to think of something to wake her up.

But every time I think of something, I know it'll fail.

Maybe when Amu dies, when she's gone into the afterlife, I'll get my vengeance on Saaya. Then again, Amu would never accept my ways, saying something like: "You idiot! Why did you kill her! Now you're stuck in jail for the rest of your life!" Even thinking about what she'd say if I did something like that makes me smile.

This is a horrible feeling, knowing that she'll die. I wish I could go to the hospital today, but after yesterday, I couldn't bring myself to stay after a few minutes of Saaya's departure. I felt like I was tainting her soul with my anger, saying those words around her, sounding like a murderous fool. That, and I still think I'm to blame for her injury and probably death.

Why am I thinking like this? Before Saaya, I knew she was going to live, and now I know she's going to die. What a horrible person, giving up like this. "Ikuto?" Someone's outside of my door, and I figure it's Utau. She usually bothers me when I'm down. I continue to stare at the ceiling, and the only things the textures on this wall show me are pictures of her funeral.

Great, now I'm starting to dream about her funeral. My door opens, but I don't look. "Ikuto? Are you okay?" That's not Utau. I see flowers blooming next to a dark brown casket, and I can see her parents devastated by her loss. Am I with them? Probably. I know I'll be broken when she dies. It'll be the most unbearable pain to ever come to me.

"Not really," I whisper. Why am I so fixated with this funeral? God, I hope I don't have to plan it. I wouldn't be able to go through with the plans. I'd take the coffin all to myself, if I had to—not like I'd do anything disgusting to her corpse. She sits down on my bed and I see her worried face. My mother is always worried when I'm depressed—this happens a lot, I guess.

"What's wrong?"

"She's going to die, because of me," she frowns.

"It's not your fault, Ikuto."

"If I didn't go out with her, she wouldn't be dead."

"She's not going to die."

"How do you know?" This funeral sucks. The priest is going on about Amu's life and how wonderful it was, but there's no mention of the love of her life: me. Come to think of it, where am I in her life? I wish I knew!

"Mother's intuition," she smiles. She touches my nose (she always did this when I was a kid to joke around and be cute) and I look at her. It's the first time I've actually looked away from the funeral. "Why aren't you at the hospital today?" I close my eyes.

"I can't go back, mom. I don't want to see her die."

"But she--"

"Yes, she will. I can't go back."

"So you are giving up?" She looks a little angry.

"I guess so. What's the big deal?" She hits the top of my head lightly and is now yelling at me; great, this is what I needed.

"You were so head over heels with this girl and now you're going to let her leave you! All because you think it's your fault! It's not your fault, it never was your fault!" I open my eyes and see her about to cry. I've never seen her cry before.

"Mom?"

"And another thing! You were so happy when you saw her move that one time! Why can't you see that she's going to wake up! You have to be there, Ikuto. You just have to go. Otherwise, you'll never find another person like that again, and who knows what'll happen if you don't find someone like her!" She gets up from my bed and starts to walk away from me. She's hiding her face so I can't see her crying. I sit up on the bed and look at her.

"Mom!" She stops in my doorway and sharply turns around. Wow, she's really crying now. Does she really care for Amu that much?

"You should be there, Ikuto! Think of something to bring her back!" She pleads with me. She doesn't even want to wipe the tears away. "I'm crying for you, Ikuto, no one else. Just go to the hospital tomorrow and bring her home!" The door shuts and I'm all alone again. I lay back down and look at the ceiling.

Instead of a funeral, I can see us walking in the park again, like nothing ever happened. I smile—smile! I haven't done this in hours, and just thinking about me smiling about when I last smiled is a good thing. I think, but I bet it is. The question is, what do I do to wake her up? I've used everything in this room! I sit up and scan around.

There's the list of strawberries in the markets, a map of where ice-cream stands were that day, a note of perverted comments to make, a how-to book on massages, the stuffed animal, my violin, the colored—

Wait. The violin? I never used that on her. There's a reason, actually: she's never heard me play. I never wrote a song for her. I meant to last Valentine's Day, but she just wanted me to be there for her, and that'd be the greatest gift of all, according to Amu. I know, it's really lame, but that's Amu for you. But she's never heard me play. She'd never wake up to my playing just a random song.

The violin…

**DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNN.**

**Wow, who knew that Ikuto had a bad side to him. I'll kill you? THAT'S NOTHING LIKE HIM AT ALLLLL! I forgot to mention, though: I made Saaya the same age as Ikuto xD Ahhh, I totally forgot she was Amu's age, BUT, I kind of made her go to college a couple chapters back. Oh well. That's fine, it's not like it's the end of the world or anything...**

**Here's what's going to happen these next two chapters:**

**BIG CLIMATIC MOMENT OH MY GOODNESS!  
**

**Actually, it's going to be split into 2 chapters. First part will be the BEST MOMENT IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE AND IT MAY KILL YOU. Then again, it could be the WORST MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE AND IT MAY KILL YOU. I haven't decided yet 8D Second part will be pretty awesome, too, but I KNOW I can't get this next chapter in ONE. It'd be 4000 words. AND THAT'S TOO LONG TO READ, DANG IT. So I'm splitting it up. Chapter 25 will be Day 25, part 1. Chapter 26 will be Day 25, part 2. **

**I wonder what'll happen! Not like I've been saying it the past TWENTY THREE CHAPTERS or anything!**

**Oh, before I go, updates might get a little slow before May 5th. WHY!? Well, I have finals coming up. This Monday is an activity day in Sociology/REGISTRATION. Tuesday, it's a German Oral Exam. Wednesday is a Health Final. Thursday is a German project. Friday is a Sociology Final. May 4th is a German Final. If I die because my brain turned into mush, I will leave this story to the readers. You guys can end it the way you want to, I guess xP**

**So, uh, I don't know when exactly I'll update next. I'LL TRY sometime before April 30th, or that weekend. OTHERWISE, it'll happen the weekend of May 8th. DON'T KNOW.**

**But, if you want to review this story and say how awesome it is and how much you LOVE IT, you can! Then, I'll update EVEN FASTER! 8D And you know you want to...**

**So review, and thank you so much, my readers! What would I do without you?**

**Until next time!**

**TLS  
**


	25. Day Twenty Five : Part I

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

**NOTE: First part = Ikuto. Second part = Amu. Second to last line = Ikuto. Last line = Amu. No confusion!**

**SIDE NOTE: Enjoy the first part of Day Twenty-Five?  
**

_Day Twenty-Five_

_Part One_

In five hours, she'll die. No, she won't die, she'll wake up before then. I thought she would have until midnight, but I guess it's until visitor hours are over, which is at seven. Great, I could've came at eight in the morning and spent time with her, but I just had to sleep in.

Actually, I was dreaming about her. I didn't want to wake up or think that it was all just a dream. She and I were together again, walking around like nothing was wrong or she was hit; it was perfect. Of course, all good things come to an end, and sadly I woke up at ten.

I don't know why I took so long to come over here. Maybe I had to go through the music again, double check each note to make sure it was perfect—and then memorize the song so I did not have to haul the music into her room. Not like the papers were heavy or there were a lot of them, but I want everything to be perfect for her, just like she is: perfect. Ah, here I am, rambling on again in my thoughts. I really have to stop before I seriously go crazy about her.

Who am I kidding, I already am crazy about her. When I first saw her near that construction site, I thought it was a little weird to have a child with pink hair roaming around the place without some sense of direction. But, then, it just happened so fast. Soon enough, I started thinking more about her, dreaming about her—then she couldn't leave my sights. Of course, this was back when I was in high school and was obsessed about her.

I guess you could say I'm still obsessed about her. Every breathing moment is time spent thinking about her: is she okay? Will she be okay? How are things in her life? These are just a few questions—and I really mean a few—questions that seem to pass my time. Without that, I think I'd go insane from boredom.

I enter the hospital—it's a little past two, but that's okay—and it's strange. The nurses and doctors know me and usually say hello to me. Today, though, their faces are not as smiling as they usually are and I can feel that they're not happy. Perhaps this is what it feels like to be pitied and ashamed. I don't know, I've never had this happen before. Do they not have faith in me?

Her room's not far. In fact, I can see her door. I see a lot of people come out from the room—mainly the guardians and her family—crying and talking to the main doctor. I'm surprised my sister and father are not here, but that's okay. I continue to walk and feel the guardians around pass me. Even they don't want to talk to me—that's okay too. I failed to wake her up.

Her mother is looking at me right now as I enter her room. I hear Ami whisper: "Ikuto, he'll wake her up!" But I can already hear her parents telling her: "No he won't. He hasn't done it so far, why should she wake up now?" That's a terrible feeling, but I close the door before I can hear them say those words and lean against the cold white gate.

Her machines are the only noises right now. Her breathing is steady, her heart a slow and smooth rhythm. Good, it's almost the rhythm for my piece—maybe I can base it on that. She looks like she's pulling away from me, as if the life in her is already leaving her body as a sign of her dying. No, she won't. I'm sure of it. I place my case on the armoire in the room—it's connected to the sink, so maybe this is a counter—and unlatch the locks.

There it is, my pride and joy. My true calling in life that doesn't involve Amu: my violin. I've been through a lot with this thing, and it shows that. I might have to bring this somewhere to polish the scratches off and find new strings. But no matter—I take my violin out and hold it up in the light. If only it were polished, it would be shining!

I turn back to Amu. I wish she would've heard this when she was awake, when we were somewhere far away from Japan and everything else. It would just be the two of us hearing this music, not a hospital, not her family, not the guardians, no one. It would only be the two of us. Of course, Fate has its way of not letting things happen like that, but I suppose to each his own. I just hope she can hear this melody. It won't last five hours, no, but I'll play until sundown.

"This is for you, Amu," I whisper. She doesn't move. I think I'm too hopeful again. I solemnly walk to the window and look outside. Look at this, it's a clear blue sky, the sun shining like it's smiling, and not a cloud in sight. I find it funny that this is the same weather from that day. I grip my bow and look to the skies. If I'm going to do it, it's going to be now.

I let my bow hit the strings and close my eyes. Before I begin, I whisper: "Please wake up, Amu." I position my fingers to the notes I want, the chord I long for, and I let my bow move. A beautiful note strikes my ear and I see the music notes fly in front of my eyelids. The machines seem to stop their noises. I enter my own world. The music is all I know, and Amu is the only one I care for.

_Please._

0 0 0

Ikuto surprised me tonight with a walk around town. He said it was all for the spur of the moment, but I don't think I believe him. I think he just wanted to see me again since I haven't seen him for a day or so. Not that I mind this date, no! But I think if he just said, "I'm here for you tonight" it'd sound better than "I wanted to walk around."Seems kind of lame to me, but that's okay.

He hasn't said where we're going right now nor has he really said a word to me since he got me. I tried having a conversation with him, but that didn't seem to work. "Hey, Ikuto, how was your day yesterday?" No answer; well that was good, Amu. Way to plan that out to absolutely no conversation. I sigh and continue to walk with him. Apparently, he has some kind of plan. I can see it in his eyes when he walks.

Look at me, just staring at him while he walks ahead of me. At least our hands are connected, otherwise he'd find a way to hide and then I'd be the one looking like a fool. I'd be all alone in this park! Then again, I don't think I'd mind being alone here. All the stars are out tonight and there's barely a light lit for blocks!

Of course, that's not safe when you think about it, but it's beautiful. The moon is so bright, the stars almost being the lights for the moon so it can be guided in the sky. Oh, just thinking about it makes me smile! Then there's Ikuto, who looks like he's gloomy and won't smile when I talk to him. I bet he wants to break up with me! Oh, what a terrible thought! Get out of my head, thoughts!

I start to shake my head and Ikuto decides to look back at me. "What are you doing?" Now he wants to say something! I stop and angrily look at him.

"Why haven't you been talking to me before I started this!" He continues to stare at me, like I'm supposed to read his mind or something. I sigh again and continue to follow him like it's something important. I don't know why he is not saying anything. Maybe he does want to break up with me.

Just thinking that…ah, it's making my eyes water. Without Ikuto, there would be no one else in the world that could make me happier. We've only been together for over a year now, but I've known him since I was twelve, and back then, I started to like him. And for four years, I had to wait so patiently before he came back and surprised me at the gazebo.

And now he wants to leave me? My heart is in pain right now, just breaking in two and shattering in millions of pieces! There's no one else I love, not like this. Oh no, I hope that's not the case. I think I'd break down and—"Are you crying?" I break away from my thoughts and look up; Ikuto is staring right at me. Ah, he's worried! Quick, Amu, act natural!

"N-No, I'm n-not." Smooth. He's holding my face and looking deep into my eyes. I'm sniffling like a little girl again and my eyes are full of tears waiting to fall. Great, he's going to think I'm lying. He wipes some of the tears away with his thumbs and smiles.

"Liar," he whispers. I knew it! I smile with him and let a little chuckle out. He uses his thumbs to close my eyes—what is he doing? "Trust me, just keep them closed," and he's gone. I have no idea where we are, where he went, or where I am, exactly. I think I'm starting to panic—what if he's leaving me behind? What if he just wants me to stand here and have wishful thinking, knowing that he'll never come back?

Then, I hear his voice. It calms my heart every time I panic. "Open your eyes, Amu," I do, and when I do, it's so beautiful. The blue lights from the moon shining down on the white gazebo in the park, the stance he has just under the stars with the pearly white smile only for me (which is weird, since he never smiles like that), and to see his violin in his hands. It's perfect.

I take a step forward, but he holds out his hand. "No, don't come any closer. I want you to listen, just listen," he says. So I stop, comply, and look at him in awe.

"Where did you hide the violin?" He smirks.

"That's a secret. I'll never tell you," I groan—yes, this is the Ikuto I have come to love. No wonder some people think I'm crazy! I sigh and stand there watching him. "So you will listen?" I nod.

"Of course. This is the first time you've played for me!" He smiles. Yes, as a matter of fact, before this night, he's never played the violin for me. I've heard him play, but it's never been just for me. I'm the only audience tonight and I'm glad we went on this walk now.

"Close your eyes then," he whispers. He brings his violin to his shoulder and places his head on the rest. He's preparing himself, so I, in fascination, watch him prepare his piece. He takes one final look at me—he looks a little annoyed. "I said close your eyes, Amu. Do I have to force those eyes closed?" Wha--! How dare he!

"N-No! Geez," I groan and close my eyes, "You can't just be nice to me once, can you?" I hear him laugh. Then, it's silent. I'm anxious (maybe a bit too anxious), and I'm impatient. I want to hear him! I want to hear the beautiful music come from that violin, and I am just anticipating this beauty to emit from his music. So I will get comfortable standing in the park, listening to him play, and I will love every minute of it.

0 0 0

_Please hear me._

0 0 0

_Let me hear you._

**BOOM! Well, actually, not boom. I didn't put both parts in one chapter. Sad.**

**I did write the WHOLE chapter and it came out to be 4000 words, but I hate, hate, hate, hate, HATE part two. So I have to edit that a lot and it might be 3000 words for that part. Not sure yet.**

**You know what I realized? FF here did something ridiculous to my chapters. Remember my dividers with my little stars? Yeahhhh, they took those down. So my chapters look ridiculous for EVERY STORY ON HERE. Including this story! I have to go back and redo everything in all of my stories, so if it's like "HEY. THERE'S AN EDIT ON THIS CHAPTER TIMES 1000" because I don't know if FF does that, that's why. That'll be my excuse.  
**

**As I was writing these parts, though, I was like, "I wonder if they'd like this in there." and I'd add a few things xD So, really, I thought about all of you while I wrote this. Don't hate me! Actually, you could. This cliff-hanger sucks, boo. Although, I did like the reviews I got from last chapter: "MAKE HER LIVE!!!" XD  
**

**BOO, I SAY! And, I'll be uploading the next part EITHER tomorrow night or Thursday night. Whichever one I feel is right, you know?**

**With that saiddddd, I'm done here for a small break. I'll be back soon, I swear!**

**Review! Tell me how I did on "part one", since I didn't really..do that much anyway. And thank you for reading! There's only a few chapters left! 8) **

**Until next time!**

**TLS  
**


	26. Day Twenty Five : Part II

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

**NOTE: Views alternate. It starts with Ikuto, it ends with Ikuto.  
**

**SIDE NOTE: Enjoy the second part of Day Twenty Five!  
**

_Day Twenty-Five_

_Part Two  
_

My hand is getting tired. My arms are about to fall off. My ears are kind of hurting from playing for this long. But I don't care, this is all for her and everyone knows how I'd do just that: everything. Until death, I'll be there for her, no matter if it hurts me in the process or even kills me. She's the only person that gets this luxury, and she deserves everything.

This is the part when it gets much faster, when it is majestic and full of life—perhaps this will help her wake up, I don't know. Just hear me, Amu. For once during this journey, hear me. Because, if you can't, I'll play louder, I'll play with everything I have. I'll play for my life as well. Just hear me.

0 0 0

I can't hear anything. He is playing, right? No, maybe something's wrong. Maybe he's just tuning his violin again and making sure all the strings are strong enough for his piece. I have no idea what I'm talking about, but I think I sounded right. I'll ask him when he's done playing—whenever he starts playing, for that matter.

I don't want to peek, because maybe he's just watching me and making sure I don't peek. Then again, what if he's not watching me? He's a creep, I know, and a pervert as well, but maybe he's trying to see if I'll listen to him and trust him when I closed my eyes. I don't know, maybe, but that doesn't sound like him.

I have to peek, just a little bit. I'll close my eyes as soon as I look, okay? I'll just open my eyes by a hair—and it may not even be that large! I just want to make sure I'm not going crazy and not hearing him play. God, why am I panicking again? I shouldn't feel this way, should I? Maybe someone is trying to tell me that he left—what a jerk.

I let my eyelid slowly open, but just a hair. I see his arm moving and I see the violin still against his body. So I let my other eyelid open and try to piece together this puzzle. Okay, maybe he's just going through the score before actually playing, maybe that's it. I open my eyes and look right at him. No, he's definitely playing his violin. His bow is hitting the strings and—what's going on?

I start to play with my ears. No, there are no earplugs in them, nor did I just go deaf for some reason. I look back at him and he's still playing. Maybe…oh who am I kidding? Something's not right and I can't figure it out. I have to get to the bottom of this—why can't I hear him play? Wait, since when did we go to this gazebo? For that matter, did he ever play the violin for me?

Is this real?

He…he never played the violin for me before.

"Ikuto!" He just looks right at me. Did he hear me? I move forward, so maybe he will say something and tell me not to move again. I don't know. "Ikuto!" I yell again. He brings the bow away from his violin but his fingers are still creating the notes. What is this? Is this a trick? A joke? I start to walk up to him, climbing the stairs of the gazebo. And I can't hear the noises of the wood against my feet.

"Ikuto!" I yell once more. His mouth is closed, he's not smiling. I reach out to him, but my hand slips through him. He takes the violin away from him and I look up at him in horror. I am probably on the brink of insanity and breaking, so maybe I shouldn't be making such a big deal out of this. Okay, maybe I'll wake up. Wait.

Is this a dream?

How…how long have I been dreaming?

Everything goes white and the only thing that's with me is Ikuto. His violin disappears and he's just standing there with me. Is this Heaven? No, God is not here. I don't see angels, either, and I wouldn't understand why I would be in Heaven. I don't think I died. "Do you not remember?" he whispers. I look into his eyes and he's afraid. Remember what?

And why are you so afraid? For that matter, why can't I talk? I start to look around and there's nothing but white. "Amu!" I hear him yell. I turn around and he's farther away. What is going on? Why can't I reach him! I open my mouth and this pained voice yells back.

"…Ikuto?" What the…that's not my voice. That can't be my voice.

"Do you remember now?" Ikuto is right behind me. I turn around and he's so afraid of something. What is he afraid of? "Please tell me you remember," he whispers. What am I supposed to remember? I don't know, Ikuto! He reaches out to me and I feel his hand caress my cheek. I close my eyes—why is it that I'm so sensitive to his touch? And why didn't he disappear when he touched me?

He pulls away and I open my eyes. I look down at his hand and I see blood. Blood? I look all over his hand for some kind of cut, but there's nothing. Did that…? I put my hand on my face and I feel this warm liquid dripping from my head. I pull my hand away and there's a bunch of blood. What…? When did I get this injury to produce this much blood?

"You are not hurt, are you?"

I look up at him and he's crying. All of these tears running down his face, a pained look across his face when looking right at me… I've never seen him cry like this! Tell me what's wrong, Ikuto! Please!

0 0 0

I can't turn to her. I have to keep looking out the window, out to the nature and out to life so I can still be hopeful for her life. I already looked back once and didn't see her move or make any sign of life. Maybe I'm too hopeful, thinking she'd be sitting up just listening to me and smiling right back at me. I have to keep playing, for her, though. I just do. Please, Amu, please wake up.

0 0 0

Where are we? We're downtown, that much I know. Ikuto disappeared from me again, as usual. And I'm in a different outfit. What is this? I have my phone against my ear and I'm talking to him that way. "Geez, Ikuto," I say. Has this happened? I don't remember this. "I'll be there in five minutes! And it's only a little café! What's so bad about it?" I hear his voice on the other line.

_"It's not the café I'm worried about, Amu. Are you sure you don't need someone to walk you there?" _I groan and start to scream into the phone.

"I'm fine! I don't need you to walk me everywhere, do I?" He laughs.

_"You are a bit clumsy, Amu. Besides, you wouldn't want to hold onto my hand right now? Not just a little bit?" _I blush and start to look around to the crowd.

"N-No! You pervert!" I hang up on him and I continue to walk. He must be close to the café, or maybe he's really far away. Either way, I'll get there first! _Did this happen? _I stop at the crosswalk and look across the street. There it is! The café! Ah, I remember when we first passed it, when I first wanted to try it. I can't wait to have some pastries and coffee!

I see the light is still red. This is going to be a while, isn't it? I look both ways in traffic. There's no one coming, and that car right there is almost a mile away! _What is going on? _I think I'll go. I start to walk out into the street and I have a feeling people are following me. I turn around and there's a few pedestrians following. Ah, I'm a leader now!

I turn around and look at the café. I smile. I'm almost there, just a few more steps and I'm—_I was…_The sun is very bright, but I was just looking at the café. What's going on? I have to call Ikuto, I have to. I look at the phone in my hand and I see blood surrounding me. My arms are bruised and I can't move my legs. I see tire tracks on the ground and I hear a lot of people around me, followed by distant sirens from ambulances and police cars. I call him anyway. No, wait, he's calling me. I'll answer it. _…hit by a car?_

I bring the phone to my ear and I hold it there. That's all I can do right now. _"Amu?" _I am trying to open my mouth, but it hurts so much. _I'm in so much pain. _I feel some blood exit my mouth when I do open it and I hear him again. _"Amu?" _I have to answer.

"…Ikuto?" I hear a sigh of relief on his end. Everything is moving so slowly. I don't hear him anymore, but I keep repeating his name over and over again. Through the cracks of people, I see the café and I reach out to the building. I'm sorry, Ikuto, I can't get there right now. I'm trying to walk, but my legs won't move. I have no strength to get up. _What happened to me? _

Then, I see a lot of people around me trying to help. It's the ambulance and doctors and police. Then, I see Ikuto in the crowd. I think he's looking for me. He's talking to me but he's not seeing me. I say his name again and he continues to move in the crowd. _Help me. _I say his name one more time. That's all the strength I have left. Wow, I didn't know everything could get dizzy.

I hear nothing but silence. _It's just like last time. _Ikuto isn't saying anything to me, and I'm slipping away. I just want to see him one more time. Just one more…there he is. He sees me. He's not saying anything to me, but I need to say something. "Ikuto…I…love…" and he takes my hand. Maybe I'll die here. Maybe not. But I got to see him one more time…one more…

0 0 0

I'm starting to cry. Great, while I play my violin, I'm starting to cry. I hope when I turn around, she's awake. As hopeful as I can be, that's the one thing I want in life right now, and probably for the rest of life (except Amu's love and affection, of course). I just hope everyone else is wishing for just that right now, for her eyes to open and for her voice to echo in this room. Man, wouldn't that be nice, to not hear just my voice in this room and to be alone with my thoughts? Amu, you need to wake up right now.

0 0 0

Everything disappears. I don't see the street anymore, the café is gone, and Ikuto is back to where he was before: right next to me. "Do you remember now?" I don't remember this, but it must've happened, because I'm hurting everywhere. There are bruises all over my body and I can still feel blood. I just want to fall down to the ground and scream in agony, but he's holding me. "But you're okay," he whispers. I look up at him.

I am? How long…how long has this dream been going on? "You just need to wake up. You need to wake up right now!" He yells at me. He's still crying and I can't cry. Why can't I cry with him? "Oh, Amu, I miss you so much right now. I need to hear your voice, I need to see your eyes, and I need to see you smile. All you have to do is open your eyes," he shakes his head and holds onto me. "I've been here for you since that day, and you need to open your eyes right now," My eyes are open, but…but they're not?

Somehow, Ikuto's warmth disappears again and I'm suddenly very cold. I close my eyes and hear music.

Is…is that a violin? Is Ikuto playing the violin? I can feel my eyes twitching to open, and I feel this uncomfortable bed below me. Where am I? I can feel something in my throat, pushing air into my lungs. This hurts! And sucks! I hear the violin and I hear Ikuto crying again. Please don't cry. I'll wake up. I'll do it for you.

I'll open my eyes.

0 0 0

There. It's done. My piece is done. I look back to Amu and I see nothing. She's not awake. I tried, Mom, I really did, but there's nothing I can do now. I lean against the windowsill and start to cry. God, this hurts and sucks so much. I turn back to Amu and leave my violin to the window. "God, Amu, why couldn't you wake up!" I yell in pain.

I'll never get to see her smile again, to see her eyes stare into mine, to hear her voice…I look up at the clock in the room. It's been two hours since I came here. I played for two hours of my life, but it did nothing. I sit next to her and place my face in my hands. This is not happening, is it?

Of course it's happening, of course this is not a dream or a fantasy. This is reality, despite how terrible this event truly is and how I do not want to be in this position. I don't want to be at her funeral, but when the time comes, I'll have to carry her coffin in the ground and pour dirt on her body, never to see it again. Great, now I'm thinking about her funeral and not her living.

I look at her and see her still lying there, still breathing from that machine, still hearing her heartbeat at the same pace—or is it faster now? I can't tell. I take her hand and hold back so much pain. But it's forcefully coming out, all the tears and all of the pain my heart has been through just going through my body. Nothing will come like Amu did, nothing will take away this pain like Amu did. She was my drug, my aspirin to all of this pain, and now I have no more medicine to take. What's going to happen now?

As much as I would want to join her, she would not want that. I would have to wait years and years of loneliness before I'd join her in the afterlife. What a horrible feeling that is, too, knowing that I'll be alone because I can't be with anyone but Amu. No one is that beautiful, no one is that special, and no one can have my heart the way she has it, despite her taking it with her when she dies.

I squeeze her hand. Why did you have to die Amu? Why did you have to never wake up from everything I did? From those strawberries to now, with the violin, why could you not just open your eyes? I've been here since you got in the hospital and I did everything for you. Was it not enough? Should I continue playing until your scheduled death? I know you mean well when you hold my hand, bu—wait.

What…?

Someone is squeezing back and I've felt this before. I stare at her hand and see her fingers moving around my own. Is this a dream? No, this isn't a dream, I've been here for a long time, so how is this… I look at her face and see tears falling from her eyes. She's trying to talk to me, trying to at least move her mouth, but that damned tube is still in her throat. Her chest is stammering, almost as if she's crying. She probably can't move most of her body due to her lack of strength, but I know she wants me to hold her. My body can't control itself, but my voice yells: "Nurse!" I'm getting really excited over this, something so small to someone but so grand to myself. "Rima!" I don't let go of her hand. I can't, not when she's here, hanging onto her lifeline. My heart is probably swelling with relief and I'm probably going to feel some kind of happiness soon. I don't care.

And as I look back in her face, there's what I've been... waiting for. Her golden…golden…

Eyes.

**WELL. That's uneventful.**

**YES! Amu FINALLY wakes up. Of course, she can't talk with a tube in her mouth, but she made some awesome noises, just saying. I edited this piece of crap a lot, and I still don't like it, but it's a lot better than what I had yesterday. It was only 1800 words, and this is 2800! HOLY HELL. I wish I could've elaborated more on Ikuto and that, but I really felt that Amu's perspective of that day was a little more important.**

**So! Where does that leave the REST of the chapters? (I'm going up to 30, possibly 31)**

**Next chapter, I haven't decided yet. I don't know if I should go into Day 26 or if I should go a month later (there's a reason for a month) and have some flashbacks. Either way, the rest of the chapters are probably going to be between 2500-3000 words. And probably the last chapter is going to be either a short chapter or a long one. I CAN'T DECIDE! DX**

**I know what I want to do, though. Good thing I have that down, right? xP**

**WITH THAT SAID, I think I'll respond to all of those reviews next chapter. There's a ton, and I can't wait to answer some of these! AND! If you still have questions or comments or ANYTHING, please review or message me or anything! I answer anyone and everyone, even those that probably hate me! 8D**

**So please review! I worked hard, I think. And thank you for those putting me on your alerts/favorites/whatever else there could be on this site. I can't thank you readers enough!**

**Until next time!**

**TLS  
**


	27. Day Fifty Five

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

**NOTE: This is about a month later from last chapter.**

**SIDE NOTE: There's two flashbacks. You've been warned!  
**

_Day Fifty-Five_

She's been trying this rehabilitation stuff for a month now. It's a little depressing just watching her try to walk again, knowing that she can do just that whenever she wanted to—she just needs a bit of strength. I'm not the one to believe in miracles, but just this one time, I always thought she could pull one off. After all, she was close to God at some moment during this journey.

They say it's only going to last for another two months before the rest of the work can be done on her own—this rehabilitation is hard work. Don't worry; I'll be right beside her whenever she needs help walking. If she needs someone to hold onto while she walks down the street, I'll be there. If she needs a helping hand to lift her up when she falls, I'm going to be there. Wherever she'll be, I'll be.

Doctors keep stopping by the window to write something on their clipboards (there's some I've never seen before, so they must be for the other patients) and then continue on their way about a few minutes later. The nurses are walking past me as I stand out in the hallway. I've been standing here for the last month behind this glass window watching her walk and fall all the time.

Actually, the first time she walked on that first day was amazing. It was like watching a child take its first steps, only now it's an adult who just woke up from being in a bed almost to the point of dying. Then she fell about twenty seconds later and I was the only one laughing at her face when she fell. It was a bit of pain, surprise, and confusion at the same time. I wish I knew what she was thinking at that moment, but I never did ask.

Right now, she's walking between these two bars so she can't fall—I think she'll find a way somehow. Her walking has improved, which means the strength in her legs is getting better, and she seems to be getting the hang of it. One of the nurses is on one side, watching her so that if she does start to fall, she'll somehow catch her (clichéd, right?) and her mother on the other side, encouraging her.

I was invited to walk with her in there, but I refused. I already spent enough time with her a month before and her mother really wanted to help her. So that's why I ended up here. I am still stuck behind this glass window. I woke her up, for goodness sakes.

Every time she takes a step or makes it to the end of where she needs to go, she always looks up at me. God, that smile will always melt my heart! My precious Amu, alive and well, and here I was a month ago wondering if she was ever going to open her eyes again. A terrible time that was, going through different stages of depression like it was fits of anger or something.

Actually, when she woke up, it was a great day to be in the hospital. All the nurses rushed into the room, including Rima, and were amazed to see their patient alive and well. I must've looked like a blubbering fool, but I was crying tears of joy.

_I sat next to Amu as the nurses and doctors all rushed in; her family came in soon after. Everyone had tears in their eyes as the doctors surrounded Amu in a rush of wind and scanned the vitals. They had to make sure she was okay and check to see that she wouldn't hurt herself again (I figured she would someway). One of the doctors was checking her pulse; another writing something down; nurses were wiping her face down with I thought was warm water; Amu just laid there._

_I looked around to the others in the room, who were mostly being pushed out of the way by doctors. Her parents were crying with joy and her mother was holding onto her husband for dear life. Ami was smiling like a kid in the candy store over at her sister and pulling on her mother's sleeve, screaming, "She's awake!" The guardians around were in shock and happiness at the same time, gazing at their friend and knowing that she'd be okay. _

_One of the doctors bent over Amu—I was still sitting in the same spot. I supposed the doctors liked me to the point that they would not push me out of the way. I did wake her up, after all. The nurses pulled this metal tray next to Amu, whose eyes were still blinking towards me and searching the room, trying to piece everything together it seemed. She wouldn't look at anyone but me—I wondered what she was thinking._

_There was another doctor at the end of her bed, I guess checking to make sure her feet moved and she wasn't paralyzed. I could've told him that I felt her toe move one day while giving a foot massage—I decided against blurting that out in front of her mother. He wrote a few things on another clipboard when her feet did move and when she wiggled her toes around. I thought the cold air was bothering her._

_The one above her moved a little too close to me. The doctor smiled at Amu, trying to direct her attention away from me—I was a little irritated. "Amu," he said. Amu finally looked up at him and started to breathe a little heavier. I knew she was getting a little nervous, so I grabbed a couple of her fingers (the way this doctor was positioned, it was hard to grab her whole hand) to calm her down; it kind of worked. "We are going to take the tube out of your throat. You can breathe on your own, right?" She nodded._

_I could tell that, doctor. I didn't say it. "Okay, what you need to do is take a deep breath for us, and on three, you need to breathe out. Are you ready?" I could tell she was scared, but she looked at me with determination in her eyes and nodded. Then, her eyes closed and they started the countdown to three. "One…" she started to breathe in. "Two…" she was still breathing in and it looked like her chest was about to explode. "Three!" She suddenly blew all of the air out and the tube started coming out of her throat. She started to gag._

_Her weak muscles made it nearly impossible to bring her hand to her mouth, just to cover her coughing. She found it hard at first to breathe on her own (I suppose this is true, since she was breathing through a ventilator). The doctors mumbled to one another and wished to speak to her parents. Her mother rushed over to Amu, who was still coughing a little bit, and placed her forehead against Amu's. "I'll be right outside, Amu. I'm here," Amu nodded and probably felt her mother's tears hit her face._

_Soon enough, everyone including the Guardians left the room. I didn't know why the Guardians left with her parents—perhaps to understand what they were going to do with Amu and how she was, exactly. I looked over at her and started to cry myself. She looked at me, as if asking: "Why are you crying?" but I answered her unasked question anyway. "Because you're finally awake, Amu, and it only took 25 days." Her eyes widened a little bit, shocked by the idea of sleeping for 25 days!_

_She tried lifting her arm to reach out to me, but I caught her hand before it listlessly fell back to the bed. "I missed you so much," I put my forehead against the back of her hand and cried again. God, I hated myself for crying, but it had to be done! She gripped my hand with me—I was a lot stronger—and started to whisper almost crying words. _

_"I…kuto." She found it hard to say my name. I could imagine, since she couldn't find her voice right away. She was still in coughing fits from time to time, still trying to get breathing down. So I told her, while lifting myself onto her bed:_

_"Say it again, please," I needed to hear her voice over and over again, to make sure she was okay. Her lip started to tremble._

_"Iku…to." It was still pained but her raspy voice was getting the hang of talking. After all, after saying my name once makes someone a little stronger. I placed my forehead against hers and leaned against her for a while. She kept whispering my name, knowing that she wanted to say more, but that would suffice. I closed my eyes when our foreheads met and I'm sure she did the same. I did open my eyes after a while and smiled. _

_I loved to see her eyes staring up at my own; I loved the fact that her voice was still there, still intact. And, most of all, she was alive—the best gift anyone could give me. I slid my fingers across her cheek to see if she would react (she blushed, like always) and I smiled. It was the same Amu I fell in love with, it'll be the same Amu I will die with. I couldn't hold back—there was always a tube stuck in the way. And she wasn't expecting a thing._

_I think she tried kissing me back, but I couldn't tell. And I have no idea how long we were like that, because it felt just amazing to hold her face in my hands and to kiss her lips…how I longed to kiss them again! (I sound like a pedophile, don't I?) When we parted, I held her in my arms the best I could—her top half was lifted off the bed and her arms hung there like jelly—and held her as much as I could at the time. I didn't want to hurt her but just the thought of her in my arms again was fantastic._

_I closed my eyes in happiness while we sat there in silence. I'm sure she closed her eyes too, but I couldn't see them. I was going to let go at one point, but I felt something graze my back. It wasn't a strong hold like she normally does, but her one arm gently rested against my back, gesturing she was holding me back. Then, she whispered:_

_"Thank…you." And my heart could not hold anymore; I began to cry nothing but joy._

Her mother closes the door next to me and I jump out of the flashback. I normally do that from time to time around Amu, but most of the time now it's when she's in therapy (I have nothing better to do but sit here in silence anyway). Her mother is standing next to me as we watch Amu prepare to go back to her room here.

Ah, I forgot to mention, we're in a different part of the hospital for only rehabilitation and therapy patients. My father decided to pay for this expense as well, although I have no idea how much money he has.

"You know," her mother starts talking. I'm surprised she's not yelling at me right now. Of course, those arguments have gone away. "without you trying to wake her up all those times, we wouldn't be here right now." That's right, she wanted to kill Amu, essentially. I look down at her and see her smiling at me. "Thank you so much."I nod in acceptance.

"The pleasure is mine, after all," she nods and puts her hand on my shoulder before walking away. I believe this means she finally accepted our relationship, but I can never understand her or my parents, exactly. I watch her mother walk down the hallway before turning into another hallway to disappear on me when I hear the door open behind me.

"Eh? Where's my mother?" Ah, that voice. I turn around with a smile on my face and see Amu essentially holding onto her IV drop (she still needs one for another week) and onto the nurse's hand that was helping her inside. I walk over to her.

"She decided it was time to go," I say. Amu is a bit confused, I can tell—her face usually says it all. I see the nurse take her hand away from Amu, and before she can fall over I grab onto her arm and hand. She's gotten a little stronger over the past few weeks, but she hasn't been as strong as she was before. I reassure her it'll be okay, but she may not believe me. I can't tell.

"Well, I guess working on me the whole day does tire someone out," she starts to walk down the hallway very slowly. I don't mind walking with her; this is usually the only time I get to talk to her and walk with her at the same time. "Of course, it hasn't tired you out at all," she says sarcastically. I smirk.

"I know plenty of ways to tire me out, Amu," I peer out of the corner of my eye to see her blushing. She starts to stumble around a bit, too. I think I did my job of embarrassing her.

"I-Ikuto, you pervert!" She screams at me as she watches her step. She stops for a moment before looking up at me. "I thought you would change!" I smile.

"Aw, I thought you liked it when I embarrassed you! Besides, who would tell you nothing but my own perverted thoughts for you?" She's blushing even harder again and she starts to walk forward, to get her mind off of it. She's walking a lot faster than she normally does, and I'm afraid that she'll slip on something, like she always does. But we walk.

"You know," she whispers. I look down at her and she slows down. She holds onto my hand tightly and carefully watches where she's going. "one of these days, you won't have to walk down the hallway with my hand in yours. I'll be on my own again, walking just like everyone else." The thought disturbs me that I won't be holding onto her for support—she'll go back to Amu. Then again, that's what I want and I'll always want Amu to be just that: Amu.

"'The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand,'" I reply. She's surprised at that quote—she's never seen me quite this poetic or anything. "It's a quote by Frederick L. Knowles," she still looks confused.

"What does that have to do with what I said?" Ah, there's the fighting spirit of Amu. I smile knowing that she's going back to her normal self and walk on with her. What do I say to her to explain myself? I think for a little bit before she slows way down.

She looks up at me while walking—she's never done this before. "Without the moon, what would the night sky be? Nothing but darkness," I continue before she can cut in, "Amu, I'll always be there to hold your hand, even when you know how to walk. We go hand-in-hand, anyway," She blushes again and goofily smiles.

"I-Ikuto, you always embarrass me with your one-liners," she exclaims. We're almost to her room (I keep telling her that it's our home for a while) and I can feel her getting stronger. Maybe that quote has some magic in it after all.

I hold onto her hand tighter and she looks down at them. "That's only because they're true," she looks back down to the ground and nods. Her IV drip gives us a bit of music to hum to—the wheels are squeaking—and we reach her door. I feel like this is when we had our first date together.

_We reached her door at her house. Her parents were in the window a minute ago, but due to me walking towards their home, they decided against opening the door abruptly and taking her away. So only Ami was in the window watching us walk, which was a little disturbing. Amu sighed. "Doesn't she have better things to do?" I smirk._

_"Maybe she'd like to know what love really is, huh?" Amu blushes. _

_"S-She's young, Ikuto!" I laughed. I wasn't thinking that, but I guess Amu has a bit of a while side with her anyway. We reached her door and we couldn't see Ami anymore—good, I get to do some crazy things myself. She fumbled around with her hands and looked up at me; she was gorgeous. She took my hands into her own and smiled. "Thanks Ikuto, although I feel like we were already on a date before," I shrugged._

_"Another first date doesn't have to be terrible," I whispered; she smiled even wider than usual and I took the opportunity—her parents, if they could see this, they would be furious. I kissed her. I know, clichéd! But I felt the urge to kiss her and hold onto her. We've kissed before, I know, but this was wonderful. Actually, anytime I get to kiss her is marvelous. We pull away from each other (I think she's smiling even more) and I almost don't want to leave._

_"You know, I do love you so much, right?" She blushes a little bit, but the smile never fades away._

"I know," she replies back.

**WELL. I finally updated. It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry, I've been going through too much right now, so I had to take a little break from writing. I won't say too much, but it involved a two year relationship and a ten year relationship. **

**Anyway, besides that depressing stuff, since SOMEONE will ask me:**

**1. Yes, it's a month later. I decided to have a month later because the next chapters are really the last chapters of the story. Next chapter will be another month, and the final chapter will kind of be some kind of epilogue. Almost, but not too much of an epilogue. No, I won't make an official epilogue.**

**2. Why is the last line of the chapter not italicized? Well, it fits with both the present and the past. Go back to what Ikuto says before the last flashback, and you'll understand.**

**And that's about all the clarification someone probably needs 8) Let's get down to business, shall we? IT'S TIME TO REPLY TO REVIEWS! 8D**

**Chapter Twenty:**

**drega: Yay to updating whenever I want! 8D (And yes, she did hit Amu in the beginning. THE MYSTERY HAS BEEN SOLVED!)  
MidnightDarknessKat: 8D Thank you!  
TheQueenOfMe: I'm pretty sure I would never be able to keep up with his antics, that's for sure! And sorry for making you sad! I didn't mean to make you upset that I said she'd die. Although...  
Toushirou-Chan: You always have the longest reviews! Ha-ha. I was thinking about writing Tadase-I like him too-into this chapter, but I decided to wait until next chapter. After all, I think that's when everyone will come in and take her by surprise. Or, maybe not. I really haven't decided yet. OH MY GOSH YOU WERE FURIOUS TOO! UGH! I've been reading the manga chapters-have you? They're adorable! I can't wait for this last chapter! I really hope it's going to be Ikuto and Amu together, because they've been doing pairs and all. Maybe he'll surprise her at the wedding and be all cliched, like "I couldn't see myself without you" and FINALLY kiss her! AHH. That'd be amazing! (I'll end my girlish rant, sorry, ha-ha).**

**Chapter Twenty-One**

**Nene: Yes it did! 8D My readers are so smart when it comes to suspense.  
drega: Yay story! And yes, it meant she was going to wake up soon! **

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

**Winter Knight: Why thank you! 8D  
Toushirou-Chan: Ha-ha, sorry that I upset you that she would never wake up. Good thing she did, right? I was going to have the high-school girls do it, but then I remembered Saaya, and the rest was history after that (I really did forget about her and what I wanted to do with her. I'm terrible). I was going to have Ikuto go on a murderous rampage for fun and just destroy the whole town and probably go to jail afterward, but then I realized that would be both out of character and I don't want to end the story like that. So I just left him to deal with the anger in the next chapter and whatnot. And I agree: if someone were to hit one of my family members or friends because they hated them, I would not be able to forgive them, no matter how many years I still knew the person. Rot in hell, I would say 8D  
drega: Ohhh, I took Japanese in high school. It was easy, I thought. Then again, I'm a language fiend-next semester at college, I'm taking Sign Language! I might as well just learn every language in the world.**

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

**TheQueenOfMe: Hey, that's how I felt during the show when I saw Saaya! Aw, she's always the bad person in stories, and I feel bad for using her like that too, but...I still hate her. Ha-ha, well, if Ikuto would've killed her, Amu would've never woken up! Terrible thought! (Although, I was contemplating on her dying by Ikuto, ha-ha. I'm terrible, too!)  
Toushirou-Chan: 8D I surprised someone! Imagine that, I thought people were expecting this to happen, ha-ha. I know! I add so much drama and pain into his life and I feel awful! Maybe I should be the one that is guilty for making Amu suffer and all. Ah! Yes, you know what I'm talking about when I couldn't bring myself to kill Saaya! There would be too much drama and then a jail sentence ... I'm not studying law here! Goodness, I'd have to go through so much! Then again, maybe I'll make a mock chapter of Saaya dying from Ikuto and no one caring, ha-ha. Ah, terrible...  
drega: Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to lag on updates! And you totally guessed it, too! I so want to give you a high-five right now!**

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

**Winter Knight: I always feel like I put in way too much detail when I have a long chapter or something, ha-ha. Oh well, more is better than less. Thank you for the review!  
FlowerFairy9751: 8D I was going to have a mock chapter where she didn't wake up and make it so depressing, but I think you readers would've been smart and asked for the real chapter. Terrible! And he did wake her up! You totally rock at guessing!  
drega: It was up my sleeve the whole time, ha-ha. I planned him to wake her up via violin since Day One!  
Toushirou-Chan: 8D Thank you, first off, for all the reviews. I don't think I've thanked you yet while replying to your reviews! Ha-ha. Back to replying: Mom's always know best, huh? Then again, if it weren't for her, I think Ikuto would be in a world of hurt right about now. And I totally agree: if someone were precious to me and someone else threatened them to hurt them, I'd probably think that. I don't know if I'd say it, but hey, I'm not that vicious like Ikuto, ha-ha.  
TheQueenOfMe: Ha-ha, she totally is, I know! And was it the best moment of your life? AND DID IT KILL YOU? Oh, I want to know! **

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

**Toushirou-Chan: 8D Well I'm glad you loved it! And sorry, they never had a date like that. I fooled you! Ahaha, I'm such the villain. Oh, that was my favorite scene to write! Loved having them think on the same wavelength, essentially. Although, I don't know if that could actually happen...Hm. I'll have to research that. And I bet you hoped all the way through the next chapter! I'm pretty sure you saved Amu yourself 8D  
FlowerFairy9751: I think his violin would be beautiful! 8D  
drega: Sorry! I have to make a cliff-hanger in this story, just once! Thank you for the love and reviews!  
Winter Knight: Why thank you! 8D**

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

**Winter Knight: I'm an awful person to have someone think she'll die while reading a chapter! I'll start my evil laugh, ha-ha. Thank you again!  
TheQueenOfMe: Hooray, she woke up! 8D Wow, two people already thought she was going to die. I'm a horrible person writing a chapter like that, ha-ha. Thank you for the reviews and love! I hope this chapter somehow satisfies...something?  
FlowerFairy9751: Ha-ha, hooray! She's finally awake! I'll get the celebratory balloons! Thank you for the reviews and love!  
drega: I think he was pretty happy to see those eyes! I know I would be after that journey, goodness. And sorry for not updating! I know, it's hard to wait (it's hard to write, too, ha-ha). AND YOU THOUGHT SHE WAS GOING TO DIE TOO? Goodness, three people! I think this is a record! I hope you like this chapter and I thank you for all the reviews and love!  
The Silence Will Set Me Free: Hey, I did not drive you to read 26 chapters! ...Well, maybe I did, ha-ha. Hello new reader! 8D I'm sorry that I made you cry! Goodness, that was not my intention. I hope you can forgive me! AHH. But thank you for reading and all the love you put into that review! 8D (Hm, you might have to fight for my number 1 fan spot, ha-ha).  
Toushirou-Chan: 8D I'm glad you loved it! I did, too, since after 26 chapters I finally got the climatic scene over with. And while I read your review, I think it's pretty safe to say that all the scenes in this chapter was something you liked, ha-ha. You basically wrote the whole chapter down! But I'm glad you liked it and I'm glad I made it emotional and all-that's what I was aiming for, anyway. **

**Thank you SO MUCH for ALL of the reviews over the last 26 chapters! Lovely readers of mine are lovely and intelligent and hilarious, I must say. Unfortunately, this'll be the last time I get to reply to reviews in chunks! Next chapter, I'll do replies for this chapter, and the final chapter will be replies for next chapter. SAD! I can't believe that this story is almost over!**

**But, I'm sure my readers of mine will enjoy these last chapters. They are happy, of course. You've been through enough trauma for one story, I think.**

**ANYWAY, thank you again for the reviews! Please review if you have ANY questions or comments or anything! I'll be here to reply next time! And thank you to all of those that added me to their favorites list or story alerts or author alerts! Goodness! I love you all so much! Where would I be without you? So thank you again and I hope to see you all soon!**

**Until next time!**

**TLS  
**


	28. Day Eighty One

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

**NOTE: This takes place about a month after the last chapter.**

**SIDE NOTE: There's a flashback in this.**

**SIDE-SIDE NOTE: I have no idea when Amu's birthday is, people. Don't yell at me for not knowing! (Ikuto will not be having a birthday in this story, sorry)  
**

_Day Eighty-One_

I wasn't expecting this many people here today. I thought it was going to be only Amu and I, just the two of us because everyone seemed to see her this week already. But no, instead, I'm pushed to the corner of the room with some of the guardians hovering over me as we celebrate her birthday. Not that I mind being with the guardians or someone else for a while, but I was literally pushed over here by Utau and the others because they think I am spending too much time with Amu.

As if, right?

I suppose I am spending a lot of time with Amu lately. I've been here for the past three months now, sitting by her bedside most of the time (there are some days when I don't go to see her, like weekends or during the middle of the week) just keeping her company. She may hate me for being around her a lot, but love does some crazy things.

Then again, they didn't even come to stop by and visit when she was in the hospital! When she was teetering on life and death, no one wanted to see her in that stage. I can understand that it may cause sorrow to see someone you love on a bed struggling for life, but she needed everyone's hope and love! Mostly mine, because I'm the most important person and thing in her life.

I can vouch for this too. I know I can. Well, maybe not right now, but I will someday!

So right now, I'm sitting in this chair with Utau on the armrest for some reason as Kukai and the others are standing around us. I have no idea why she thinks she can sit on my armrest—it's my armrest—and the others have to stand up. In fact, why do I get a chair? "It's so nice to have all of us together again!" she exclaims. Everyone is smiling and laughing while carrying on as if nothing is going on, and I'm still sifting through the crowd with my eyes trying to look for Amu. I have my priorities straightened out.

Actually, this happened when everyone visited Amu at once, right after she woke up and right before she started therapy. I had no idea how much people loved to be around her but they were all standing before me, wanting to see her. There was another person that came, too, but I had to leave the room before they entered.

_I opened the door and saw all of the guardians standing there with Kukai and Utau behind them. "We arrive to see our Amu!" Utau said to me as she pushed me against the wall and the others followed inside. Amu was on the bed resting as they stormed into the room and suddenly woke her up with their loud and obnoxious voices. Kukai decided to stand next to me as the others hounded over Amu._

_"Hey, Ikuto!" Kukai rested his arm around my shoulders and I sighed._

_"Why are you guys here?" Kukai smiled like an idiot and started to laugh._

_"We wanted to surprise you guys! We know you missed us!" Well, maybe for Amu, but certainly I didn't really miss them. I sighed again and watched as he left my side to talk to Amu. I don't remember what they really talked about or how conversations were brought up; they only shielded me away from her. The only real conversation I paid attention to was Tadase's apology to Amu and how she reacted. _

_"U-Um, Amu?" Tadase started. Amu turned to her friend and smiled._

_"You don't have to apologize," I thought to myself: you just made the man's job easy! How come I have to apologize for what I do, but when he does something terrible, you brush it away? I looked over at Tadase and he still wanted to say his apologies._

_"N-No, I have to say I'm sorry! Please forgive me, Amu, for hurting you like that and treating you the way I did towards you and Ikuto when you first started to date! I didn't mean to ignore you like that," he whispered the last part. Amu looked like she was going to cry and Tadase looked like he was in pain. She smiled and gathered enough strength to rest her hand on his, when he touched her bed. _

_"I do," she whispered back. And that was it. The others commented on how dramatic it was and how they could've done that in private. Utau remarked:_

_"Ikuto better watch out! Amu could start falling in love with Tadase again!" I scoffed that comment away and hear them laughing at me. Amu would never fall in love with that kiddy-king again. She needed no king again—she needed a knight in shining armor, of course. They're much better than ruthless kings that only know power is the greatest tool of all. They continued to talk to one another and go about their conversations when a knock was heard at the door._

_Being next to the door, I looked at the group (who in turn was looking at me) and I waved my hand. "I'll get it," I said. I listlessly closed my eyes and grabbed the door handle. I thought it was going to be some nurse, so when I opened the door, I said: "We have company right now, so if you want-" I opened my eyes and saw a woman standing there. No, not a woman, a monster. Yes, that'll describe her well enough to my tastes._

_She had her head bowed towards me and I felt my grip on the handle tightened so hard, I thought I was going to break it! She looked up to me with those innocent eyes and asked: "May I come in?" Her voice—god I hate the sound of her voice! It makes me want to kill her on the spot! I flatly replied:_

_"No," and stared at her some more. I don't know why she didn't just leave, but she just stood there looking up at me. She asked me again:_

_"May I come in?" Her voice did not waiver and her composure did not falter. I repeated my answer; she repeated her question. Utau and the others stood around the corner and looked at her. _

_"Ikuto?" They all asked me. They were all confused about why she was not allowed to come inside—I had my reasons, and if they heard those reasons, I'm sure they would be on my side as well. The girl outside still stared at me and asked:_

_"Why can't I?" I quickly rebutted:_

_"You know why." She was starting to get mad._

_"I want to make amends!" So I did, too._

_"You can never make amends after what you did!" Utau rested her hand on her shoulder as a means to calm me down—I was yelling. I sharply breathed in as I looked over at Utau. She had no idea about Amu being hit by Saaya, so she had no idea why I was yelling at her._

_"Ikuto, just let her see Amu," I wanted to slam the door right in her face!_

_I shook my head violently and turned my attention back to Saaya. "No, she is not allowed to see her nor is she allowed to be forgiven!" Then, suddenly, I heard the voice of an angel. _

_"Ikuto?" My heart pounded against my chest because of my anger and I turned to Amu on the bed. She was looking at me with confusion as I stood in the doorway with Saaya. "Are you okay?" That's right, she's never seen this side of me. My mind was scrambling for an answer, but my mind was still focused on Saaya. I know she wanted to be just holding me back right now, to try and calm me down, but she couldn't walk right away. _

_My hand loosened its grip on the handle and I looked back out into the hallway. "Everyone out," I said. Utau and everyone were confused, and as they started to move, I said again: "You only get five minutes with her. After that, you never see her again." She nodded reluctantly and the others moved past her. She looked up at me._

_"Thank you," she replied. I looked back at Amu and she was probably thinking the same thing. At any rate, I shut the door behind me when I left the room and waited for five minutes to go by. I don't know what they said in there or how she explained herself after trying to commit a murder, but when she opened the door, she was crying and smiling at the same time. I was sure Amu forgave her, for she was crying as well. Utau asked me as the others moved inside to ask if she was okay:_

_"What happened?" I shrugged._

_"Nothing, apparently," I replied._

A hand waves in front of my face and I'm directed back to the group. "Earth to Ikuto!" Kukai says to me. I smirk and swat the hand away from my face. Apparently, Amu was opening her gifts when I zoned out. Great, no one likes to tell me when these things are happening! Not like I can see her anyway with everyone around her. Someone else is next to me.

"Ikuto!" She hugs my leg as Amu continues to open her gifts—there's a bunch of flashes going on by her father and her mother is saying how wonderful the presents are. "Why aren't you over there next to Amu and my mom and dad?" I rub Ami's little head—wow, her head is small compared to my hand—and smiled down at her.

"Because some people want me to not be near Amu for a while," Ami is saddened by this, I can tell.

"But why?" She pouts. See? I shrug and kneel down to her level. She's not that small, no, but she's pretty small for her age still.

"I don't know myself, Ami. I guess I spent too much time with Amu in the hospital already that they want to spend as much time as possible before I take her away forever," Ami's eyes light up. Apparently, she took the whole "forever" thing literally.

"You really mean it? Forever? That's a long time!" I smile.

"Why, yes it is, and you won't be able to see Amu for that long, either," she's pouting again and turns her back on me.

"Then that's why you can't see Amu! She needs to be around everyone, not just you!" She turns her head to the side and sticks her tongue out at me. What the…! That little girl! How dare she stick her tongue out at me! Before I can unleash my kid side against Ami, someone steps behind me and puts their hand on my shoulder.

"Now now, Ikuto, there's no need to be a kid again. After all, you act like that all the time!" His laugh erupts and echoes on the walls. My father is loud! I sigh and stand up again, almost the same height as him (he's a little taller than me). My mother is right next to him smiling.

"I bet he still has a stuffed animal in his bed," she remarks. God, that was years ago! I seriously hope they don't tell Amu about that, or else I'll never hear the end of it! My father wraps his arm around me and my mother as he starts commenting on other things.

"Besides, you do not need to tease a little girl! That's what Utau's for!" I smile. Yes, that's true. And speak of the devil, she's hovering over me like a monster. She's pretty angry at that comment, but she'll never be mad at our father. No, she's pissed at me. I have no idea how that works either.

"Ikuto! You aren't supposed to smile at that! You need to not make fun of me and smile at dad's remarks!" She's blowing out my eardrum just from yelling. I'm sure everyone can hear us talking to each other, but they're already about to sing for Amu! I look over at Utau and she's furious.

"You know," I say to her, "it's rude to be selfish on someone else's birthday. This is especially true when they're about to sing," I point over to the cake being carried to Amu—who I still cannot see!—and Utau follows my finger. Apparently, my parents decided to walk away from us and join the actual party (I don't think I'm allowed still) and I stood next to Utau and the others for quite some time.

The loud one—Yaya was it?—she starts to sing very crudely. "Happy Birthday to you!" she yells. I think she's the loudest one here. Tadase is singing quietly. "Happy Birthday to you," he adds on. Rima, she's just standing there not singing (I think in her mind she is) while the one she likes, that Nagahiko guy is singing for her. "Happy birthday to Amu," he drags on the last sound of her name, just like everyone else. Utau doesn't want to sing (she hates singing childish songs anyway), so I finish the verse for everyone nearby.

"Happy birthday to you," I sing with the rest of the party. Everyone is clapping now—I'm assuming she blew out her candles—and I hear her mother ask:

"What did you wish for?" The crowd wants to hear her wish. Why? Isn't it a folklore that if someone says their wish out loud, it will not come true? Maybe that's wrong. I have no idea. I am uninterested in her wish because of that superstition and watch as the crowd listens on. Oh well, no harm in still wanting to hear her answer or her voice, right?

"I wished for," there's a pause. Man, I haven't heard her voice all day! It must've been because of the level of noise from everyone in the room—there's probably over fifty of us in here, not including doctors and nurses that check up on her. It's nice to hear it again. "I wished for Ikuto to actually give me a gift!" …Was not expecting a wish like that. And sure enough, when she said that, the whole crowd looked at me and turned their heads back at me.

Wow, if I wasn't hated before by someone, I must be hated now. I guess they are expecting an answer from me and they part their sea. There, sitting on a chair surrounded by numerous gifts and her cake on a table is my one and only. She's a little angry at me—probably more annoyed than anything else—and she's staring at me. I smirk. "Aw, is my little Amu mad that I didn't get a gift for her?" She closes her eyes in frustration and starts to talk again.

"You could've gotten a card at least!" She yells at me. Ah yes, this is the good side of Amu I like. I guess I'm just weird like that, but this side always makes me smile.

And of course I'm smiling. "I can't express my love through a card. There are plenty of ways to do that, _Amu,_" I comment back. She opens her eyes in embarrassment and her face is red like a tomato. Ah yes, what I can do to make her blush. I'm surprised her parents are not mad at me for making a perverted comment like that—maybe they didn't catch it.

"W-What! You're a pervert, Ikuto!" I laugh.

"I was not meaning it like that, Amu. Are you suggesting that we have se-" She holds her hands up to her ears.

"I'm not listening to you!" She closes her eyes to match her actions and she sits there for a couple seconds like that. I chuckle to myself and she opens her eyes to look at me once more. "Why didn't you get me anything?" I can just feel everyone's eyes still on me, but all I'm focused on is Amu, who's across the room. I hold out my hand.

Yes, I hold out my hand. "I gave you the gift to live again, didn't I?" She blushes at the sudden actions and sudden change of attitude I present to her, and all I can do is smile, "So now it's time to give you the gift of my love. Come over here," I say to her. She looks up at her mother.

I know what's going to happen: she's going to ask her mother for help. Her mom is reaching down for her arm but I shake my head. "Amu," she looks back at me, "you need to do this on your own. After all, you said it yourself: 'One of these days, you won't have to walk down the hallway with my hand in yours. I'll be on my own again, walking just like everyone else.' So, if you want my gift," she looks amazed that I actually remembered her saying that. Like I would forget such a thing! "you have to come get it from me."

Everyone turns back to Amu. At first, she's stunned at the idea and her eyes are wide. I don't think she was expecting me to say something like that in the first place. But then, something made her realize that she was being called out by me, and I don't think she liked that very much. She is determined. She places her hands on her armrests and pushes herself up from the chair. So far so good, I guess.

And now she's just standing there. I can only imagine what's going through her head: probably nervous about falling and panicking that if she does fall, she wants someone to catch her. And I suppose thinking that she can do it, too. "I'll show you, Ikuto!" she says to me. I smile and still hold out my hand. Then, she takes her first step.

A little wobbly and a bit shaky, but she's getting the hang of it as she takes another step. Her legs are getting much stronger as she does this therapy. Before, she would've made it five feet before falling over. She's still walking towards me, after about ten feet. She almost looks like she's a normal person while walking too! Although, she's nowhere near normal; I, for one, cannot see her being a normal human being.

She's getting closer to me. I wonder how this'll end. I haven't thought about giving her a gift, either. Maybe just a kiss on the lips or a hug will suffice. Yes, maybe that'll do. Then again, I do that every day, so that's nothing special. I feel something graze my hand and I snap out of my thoughts. She's right in front of me! Wow, she's really fast now. I haven't been to her therapies in a while now, so I didn't know she was this fast! Her fingertips touch mine and there's a bit of an electric spark between us.

This is the feeling I get when she's around me. Maybe she has the same thing, I don't know. But it's always nice to feel her right next to me. She grabs my hand and stops right in front of me; she's out of breath and she's bent over trying to catch said breath. "Ah, why did you make me do that, Ikuto!" she groans. I pull her up from her already weakened position (she looks weak!) and place both of my hands in between her arm and her chest (her armpits, peoples). I lift her high and hold her up in the air above me.

I bet she wasn't expecting this. "H-Hey!" No, she wasn't. "P-Put me down!" I wrap one of my arms around her back and the other around her legs—do you know how hard that is? It's tough. Her knees are against my chest, her chest (hello) is against my face and she's looking down at me. I've never tried this with her, and I have no idea if this looks remotely romantic, but I'm smiling up at her.

"You look beautiful, Amu," she's blushing again and she places her hands on my shoulders. She's finally relaxing a bit.

"T-Thank you," she replies back. I have no idea what people are doing around us—I bet it's awkward for them to be watching us. I don't care, let them watch. Let them see just how much of a man I am around her and how thoughtful I am towards her. Hell, I'm better than her parents! I feel Amu's forehead rest against my own and her eyes are closed.

Then she ruins the mood. Typical Amu. "So, is this your gift, Ikuto? Your love? You gave this to me last year," she whispers to me. I don't think anyone else heard but I start to laugh. She pulls away from me and looks rather confused. I let my arms let her slip through and she rests back down on the ground. She looks up at me in wonder.

I bend over and whisper something in her ear. I cannot say what exactly it was, but let's just say it ended with her blushing like a tomato again and her smacking me across the face, yelling:"That's gross, Ikuto! Y-Y-Y-You pervert!" I laugh once more and everyone else starts to laugh with me. She's the only one steamed about the whole thing, but I rub her head and hold her close to me once more. She places her hand on my chest and laughs with me.

"I'll give you my heart as a gift," I whisper to her. I don't know if she heard me because of the talking around us. She must've, because she looks up at me and smiles.

"Then I'll make sure to cherish it for as long as I live," she replies. I close my eyes and hold onto her for dear life. No, she won't be leaving my sights for a very long time. Besides, it's much better this way when she's pressed up against my body and she's in love with me still. Someday, we'll still be together like this, still on life's adventure from sunrise to sunset, making our own story.

After all, we won't be in this hospital for the rest of our lives.

**AHAHA CHEESY.**

**Woah. I actually updated pretty quickly, huh? There's a reason: I want to end this story so badly xD I wrote this chapter in about three hours after I posted the last chapter, and I'm almost finished with the final chapter already. I won't be posting the final one though for another few days because I want people to anticipate its arrival. It'll be ballin' I think.**

**About the birthday decision: Amu hasn't had a happy moment yet. She needed a birthday, I think. And I really wanted to wrap some stuff up, so I made Tadase try to apologize (did it work? I don't know) and Saaya try to apologize. Ikuto was pissed when she came, dang! (He can't forgive her, but Amu can. I think she'd have enough heart to understand where she came from. Although, I wouldn't. I'd beat the crap out of Saaya if I were Amu.)**

**Uh, not much else to talk about for this chapter. The final installment of this story, oh man, I've had it planned out since Day One! At least I had the beginning and ending of the story planned..not so much the middle parts, ha-ha. You know, it's kind of depressing that Accidents are Never on Purpose is ending! I only started this story about six months ago, and I'm finally ending it! There are people on this site that have stories from two, even THREE years ago when they started, and they KEEP WRITING CHAPTERS. GOOD LORD. I don't think I can ever do that.**

_Chapter 27 Reviews:_

**The Silence Will Set Me Free: Uh, I guess fantastical would fit for the chapter, ha-ha. Maybe not perfect. I would LOVE to have a guy like Ikuto in this story or any other story, showin' love to his girl Amu. Dang, he's a lover, huh? Ha-ha, I wanted people to react to that so much, just that little flashback. Maybe people will react to the other thing he does in this chapter 8D Thank you for reviewing! And thank you for the kind words at the end of your review. I think I did my best getting through it all 8)  
Winter Knight: 8D Thank you my friend! I'm glad the chapter worked out!  
FlowerFairy9721: I don't think we'd be anywhere in the story without some Ikuto/Amu moments! Ha-ha. Those are necessities to life, I think! Thank you for the review!  
drega: Yay new chapter! I know, I updated so late last chapter that I made up for it with a fast update! I don't know if that's a good thing...Thank you for the review! And thank you for telling me the ending was awesome! I didn't know if it worked or not.**_  
_

**So next chapter is the FINAL CHAPTER of Accidents are Never on Purpose! If you would love to review and tell me how I'm doing (horrible, right?) or comment on my writing, please do! I'd love to hear ALL of you that have favorited this story, put it on your story alert lists, whatever! I want to hear why you love this story. That, and I am selfish and I want to end this story with at least 100 reviews, ha-ha. I'm not asking to get to 100 reviews before I post the final chapter. Regardless of how many I get, I will post the chapter either Thursday or Friday. Next chapter (I'm replying to THIS chapter's reviews next chapter) is the LAST chapter I'll be replying to reviews. If you have ANYTHING to say, do it now, or else you'll never get a reply from me! (I may message you a response. Who knows, right? Ha-ha) **

**Thank you to those that have reviewed in the past, favorited my story, and put me on a story/author alert! I love my readers so much! **

**Until next time!**

**TLS  
**


	29. Day One Hundred Nine

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Shugo Chara.**

**NOTE: This takes place a month after the previous chapter.**

**SIDE NOTE: It's very, very corny/cheesy. It's cheesy corn!  
**

_Day One Hundred-Nine_

I can't see a thing. Ikuto decided to put this blindfold over my eyes and I have to keep it on before we get to our destination. I feel like he's going to fool me into thinking that I should step a few feet to the left only to hit a pole. You know he would do such a thing. The only thing guiding me to our next stop in life is his hand pulling me along and his voice telling me to dodge one thing after another.

As much as I am trying to peek through the little crack in the blindfold, it's hopeless. I can't see very far to begin with—maybe that's why I'm so clumsy—and the crack is not that great. All I can see is people looking at me with strange looks on their faces when they're really close. I even heard a child say: "Look at her, mommy! Is she blind?" The nerve of that child!

I remember Ikuto picking me up before this. Then everything went dark, hence the blindfold, and I was whisked away by him while my mother told us to be safe and to not cause trouble. Though, with Ikuto around, I'm sure we'll get into some kind of trouble.

_"Mama, how do I look?" I looked in the mirror before Ikuto arrived. I was wearing the variation of my dress on that day. It's not the actual dress, no; that was full of blood when the paramedics showed me one day while visiting. It was a pink and black plaid dress with more ruffles near the bottom. Not a whole lot changed. My hair had been cut about a few days ago and it's a little shorter than what I expected. My pink hair, almost gone—I was brushing it back and forth while looking in the mirror, hoping that my hair would grow back. Oh, I forgot to mention:_

_I dyed my hair, too._

_Ikuto hadn't seen me since I left the hospital, which was about three weeks ago, and I don't know what made me decide to dye it. It's a caramel brown, kind of like what Rima had before she decided to dye her hair to a more blonde-color (we went together to get our hair done). I don't know what Ikuto will think of the new look—I can still see hints of my pink hair sitting in the brown color, like little streaks. Maybe it was intentional._

_As I was reminiscing on my old hair and thinking about what Ikuto would say about my hair, I felt my mother put something in my hair. She was smiling in the mirror. "There, you look perfect," she said. I looked at my head. It was a dark red headband with a little design running around on it; little white cat heads were evident. I thought it was a little ironic, but my mother didn't know about that side. She didn't need to know, either. I moved the headband around to my tastes and smiled. Maybe Ikuto would smile at this, I thought._

_I turned around to face my mother now. "I wonder where we're going!" I was getting a little excited. There were probably stars in my eyes. Ah, I could see it now: going to a fancy restaurant, or maybe to the movies. Oh! Perhaps to a park where we could go to the playground! Lovely ideas, I thought. My mother shrugged and we both heard the door knock at the same time. I could tell, because we both turned our heads simultaneously. _

_I started to panic. "Ah! He's here! What's he going to say? What if he doesn't like it? What if he's reminded of that day when he sees the dress?" As I was panicking, my mother must've opened the door, because when I turned around to yell at her, there was Ikuto staring right at me. He looked at me, I looked at him. I was blushing and almost stunned that he saw me. He was wearing more of a casual suit, but it looked like a tuxedo to anyone else._

_He looked at my mother. "I'm looking for Amu. I have no idea who she," he pointed at me, "is." What the…! The nerve of him! My eye twitched in anger and I formed a fist. I closed my eyes in frustration and started to say:_

_"Thanks for complimenting on my look, Ikuto," I don't know what he did after I said that, but all I heard was a chuckle. God damn him!_

_"I still don't know who you are," How I wished I could hit him so hard right now! I opened my eyes and saw him right in front of me. I-I didn't even hear him walking towards me! I must've been so angry that I deafened myself. I think all of my anger went away, too, as I blushed at the sight of him just standing there. "But you are gorgeous, with or without long pink hair," he whispered to me. I felt my face heat up—yep, I was blushing._

_I buried my head in his chest and hid my face from him. He placed a hand on my head and started to play around with my hair. "What made you decide to cut it and color it anyway?" I shrugged. I don't know, I just wanted a little change! He sighed. "Now I look like the freak with blue hair," he said to me. I started to laugh at the remark. He smiled. "Ah, I almost forgot," he was pulling something out of his pocket. "Turn around, I have something for you," Another gift? I just got one from my mother!_

_I smiled in excitement and turned around. I wonder what it is! Oh, what if it's a ring! What do I say? How do I say it? Those were only a few thoughts that ran through my head. "Close your eyes." I did. He was putting something over my face—was it a scarf? I guess it could look cute with my dress. I felt a little tug behind me and he whispered in my ear: "Okay, open them." I did. W-What the hell? I couldn't see!_

_I heard his laughter starting as I tried to see. I put my hands on my face and felt a cloth over my eyes. "It's a blindfold, Amu," he said to me. _

_"What kind of a gift is this!" I yelled to him. He kept laughing as he put his arm around my shoulders. _

_"Oh, you'll see. You'll love my surprise," why do I get the feeling that he's being perverted right now? My mother started to laugh and I was being directed somewhere. _

_"H-Hey, where are we going?" I tried reaching for the blindfold, but Ikuto stopped me from pulling it off. My mother held onto my hands and I think she smiled. She had the voice like she smiled._

_"It's okay, Amu. I'm sure Ikuto will take good care of you!" And then I felt the outside air. The sun was nice, at least. I don't know, mom, I thought, I think if you trust Ikuto too much, he'll do something crazy! I started to walk a little weird and I heard the door close behind us. Ikuto whispered:_

_"See? You still need my hand to walk," and of course, his hand was in my own. Not that I cared. It was nice to have him back by my side anyway. Although, having me run into my own fence while hearing him laugh and apologize at the same time was not too nice._

"We're almost there," he says to me. I still can't see anything so I can't really be excited for where we're going! I nod and continue to walk with him. I'm kind of nervous about walking out here. I can tell we're on a busy street, and I haven't been out here since the accident. I wonder if Ikuto is panicking right now. I can only imagine what's going through his head right now—besides perverted insights.

0o0

Truth be told, I am nervous being how here with her. What if I accidentally fall or somehow stumble too close to the street and she's hit again? Lord knows she won't survive if she gets hit by another car. Then again, what are the chances of her getting hit again and me stumbling into the street like a fool? We're too far away from the curb anyway to have something like that happen! Although, I must say, the children that pass her up from time to time are hilarious. Just their faces looking at her makes me smile.

I can see the place we're going to now. She's always wanted to go, and she'll never let it down if we never went here. I bet she knows where we're going. Otherwise, she really has no brain to begin with, huh? "We're almost there," I whisper to her. She's still looking like an idiot while walking. Hell, at least she is walking now. Yet, she can't seem to let go of my hand—I'm not complaining.

She starts to get frustrated at me. "Good! Does this mean I can almost take this stupid thing off?" I smile and think about the perfect comeback. Of course, it comes almost right away.

"Of course not. I'll have too much fun with this blindfold on today," I whisper. She blushes and looks over at me—of course, she can't see me, so I can't tell what her eyes look like.

"I-Ikuto! Not in public!" She starts thrashing around like a little kid. "And we better not be going to your house!" I laugh. If only we were, Amu. I don't think I'd be able to contain myself within my own house, so there was a reason why I didn't bring her there.

"No, Amu, we're not," I reply. I think she's relieved, because I can see some of her tension and worry going away. I smile and we continue our journey. I stop her from going into the street and watch the cars fly by. I'm still very nervous that she'll somehow fall into traffic and that'll be it for her life—she'll be gone. But she's standing there, just waiting for the red light to turn green, and I do the same. Although, I think I'm holding onto her a little bit more. And so the light turns green and I start pulling her.

Look at me, nervous that a car will just come out of nowhere and hit only Amu. What a terrible thought. Even though there are hundreds of people on this street right now, I still feel like one car will hit her and only her. To my surprise, as I was thinking that, we made it across the street. I look back at Amu, who is wondering where we could be I assume, and I just stare at her. I think my hand is now cutting off circulation to her own hand.

0o0

"Ikuto?" I ask. Out of nowhere, he stopped, so I'm wondering what he's doing. "Are you okay?" I hear him chuckle—well that's a plus.

"I should be asking you the same thing," I have no idea what he's talking about. I can't even hear any trouble around! Is he that worried that I'll be hit by a car again? As much as I'm worried about my own safety at this point, he doesn't have to be worried about a thing. As long as he is holding onto my hand and keeping me away from harm, I'll be fine.

So we're walking again. He just said we were "almost there" about ten minutes ago. I wish I could whine about my legs—they are killing me with these shoes on—but I know better than to ruin this day. It can only be a matter of time before he—"Stop." –tells me to stop. My feet obey and I stop on a dime. I can't really hear anything out of the ordinary here; are we in a park? It's really quiet compared to where we were. Oh no:

He's not going to propose to me, is he?

I'm getting anxious again. "Before you take off your blindfold, do you remember where you wanted to go?" Wanted to go? I'm trying to piece together this puzzle but I'm not finding all of the pieces. I shrug.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Ikuto," I reply. So, maybe he's not going to propose to me. Good, I don't think I can handle him as a fiancé yet—just the thought of being together every day scares me a bit! I feel him take his hand away from mine and I'm getting nervous.

Where is he? What is he doing? I feel someone behind me and I think it's him, because he just put his hands on my shoulder and he's playing around with the cloth around my eyes. "You'll like it," he whispers in my ear. He's starting to untie the stupid thing—take it off already! "Trust me," and the cloth comes off.

Okay, I was not ready for the bright sun in my eyes. I close them in pain and look down to the ground. "It's so bright out here!" I yell in anger. He's laughing at me, probably because I look stupid. I start to open my eyes little by little, due to the little exposure to the sun before this. My eyes are burning! I see people walking past me, probably looking at me, while I see Ikuto's feet right next to me. That's a good thing.

I start to blink a few times. My vision is coming back. I straighten out my back and look at the building ahead of us. Why does this building look familiar? My vision is still blurry, but I can pick out a few things about it: there's a cute 'open' sign hanging in the window, there's a bunch of cups on shelves in the other window, and the door is propped open, which kind of looks like a cupcake. W-Where the hell are we?

Ikuto moves in front of me and smiles. I think my vision just became a little clearer when he was in view. "Happy Anniversary," he says. W-What? It was our anniversary? Wait, what day is it? Ah, my time has been off since that stupid coma! I'm a little saddened that I didn't get him anything, though. "Don't worry about your gift, Amu. You gave me what I wanted in life, and that was you," he says to me. W-Well. I guess I don't have to buy anything. Although, I think I should…

I blush in embarrassment from his speech and he pulls me into his arms. Why is this always the ending to my embarrassment? "Don't blush—just enjoy something sweet and delicious, like you," He kisses the top of my head and I start to think about what he said. Where exactly are we! He pulls away from me and I can see so clearly now! He grabs my hand and moves to the side of me—my eyes are wide now.

I remember this place! I told him I wanted to come here because it just opened not too long ago. Well, maybe not too long ago, I don't remember. It looked delicious and it smelled so divine! I start to smile (I think my stupid grin is coming back) and I look over at Ikuto. "Yes, Amu, we're here," he says. I look back at the building and sigh a bunch of relief. I don't know what could make me happier—perhaps a wedding now—but this is fantastic!

I was almost here before, I know that much. We were so close to getting to this spot before, but we hit a road bump before we made it. Now, the road bump is still in the street, but we made it over that little detour. I lean into Ikuto and I am still smiling. After all this time, we finally did it—we finally got to where we wanted to go for a long time.

I finally made it to the café. "Yes," I reply to him, "happy anniversary."

**WOW. WHAT A HORRIBLE ENDING.**

**I think I should apologize to mankind about this ending. Yes, I didn't really have a fantastic ending like a wedding or anything. It's one of those endings that makes you think, "Okay, they're going to be alright after all." I bet some of you are wondering:**

**Did Amu enjoy the cafe? What did she order? How is she enjoying the time spent with Ikuto? Well, I can't answer those questions. You just have to think that she's doing okay or horrible-you choose!**

**Uh, so do I like this chapter? I'm iffy about it, you know? I think if I had more energy to write (my other story, good lord, I wrote a 5000 word chapter!) I'd work harder on this, but I think you guys will handle something like this. I know, YOU CAN YELL AT ME FOR HAVING SUCH A TERRIBLE ENDING. But I planned this to happen since the first chapter, so if you read this story thinking it was going to end with something cliched like a wedding, well, sorry. I think that's my bad.**

**For those wondering: no, there is no epilogue or sequel to this story/chapter. YOU WILL LIKE THIS CHAPTER!**

**I'm terribly saddened, though, that the story is ending! And on such a high note, too! Usually, I write terrible endings, like a character dies. Ha, what if Saaya was hit by a car? Ah, the inspiration...But seriously, I am really depressed that I finally finished the story! I think this is a happy day, though, because now I don't have to worry about updating two stories now-I can focus on one! Woo!**

**Someone mentioned that Amu's birthday is in September. Well, I made her birthday in June, according to the timeline xD Oh well.**

_Chapter 28 Reviews:_

**TheQueenofME: Ha-ha, I know, right? I'd totally beat the crap out of Saaya if I knew she hit me. Then again, Amu was pretty powerless when it came to fighting. I hope you like the ending (I kind of don't, now that I wrote it, ha-ha) and I hope it was well worth reading this story! Thank you for all the reviews you have done in the past!  
Toshirou-Chan: 8D Glad you liked it! I think he already gave her his heart, but he can keep doing it over and over again. Gives her something to look after, right? Thank you so much for reviewing in the past and thank you for the love! I hope you like this chapter!  
drega: See? I knew I'd get her birthday wrong! Well thank you! I made sure I'd update quick enough so people weren't pissed off at me or anything 8D I don't need that anyway. I hope you are excited for this chapter (or was excited for this chapter and not let down by my terrible ending) and thanks for saying I'm not horrible! You're far too kind. Thank you for all of the reviews you have done in the past!  
Winter Knight: Thank you! I thought it was a good idea to do something like that-make time go faster, right? Thank you for all the reviews you have done for this story!  
The Ever-Blue Alchemist: Ha-ha, you flooded my e-mail inbox with a lot of reviews! But it's good that you caught up, right? I'm sure you anticipated for this ending, so I won't make you wait any longer! Thank you for those reviews in the past couple days! 8D  
The Silence Will Set Me Free: Ha-ha, when isn't he a pervert though? The big sha-bang! It's a little uplifting to know that a story will end, but it's also depressing, like "I worked on this for so long...and now it's over!" Kind of just want to celebrate and cry at the same time. Thank you for all of the reviews you have done! Much love!  
FlowerFairy9751: I think any IkutoxAmu moments make anyone's day, really. Or make a story a lot better, I don't know. Oh, what did Ikuto say to Amu? How the hell should I know? Ha-ha, just kidding. I was going to put something like "But this time I'll give you love with pleasure at the same time" but I thought that'd be a little too riskay, you know? Thank you for the reviews in the past and much love! I hope you enjoy the ending!**

**SO WITH THAT, I bid farewell! I would like to thank (the academy..) everyone, EVERYONE, that has favorited this story (24 people!), those that alerted this story (22 people!) and those that reviewed the story, however many of you out there! I also want to thank people for making my goal for this story: I hit 100 reviews yesterday, I believe. So thank you so much for that! Thank you for reading the story, I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I did (which was a bit of a roller coaster, I must say) and I hope that in the future, I get to see some of you again for another story! Who knows-it might be in the near future, huh?**

**Thank you again and until next time (whenever that may be)!**

**TLS  
**


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